
fnSgPt?, 

WSBSaB^SSm^i 


m$Mi 


?««* 


a^ssms^sm 























































































































p 



















KE-ALOHI-LANI 






, &*~*&e 0m ~*t** 

HAWAIIAN 4 } 

( LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 

\ k and / 

GHOST-GODS 

(MYTHOLOGY) 

Collected and Translated from the Hawaiian 




4 

V 


BY 


W. D. WESTERVELT 


AUTHOR OF 
VOLCANOES.’ 


“LEGENDS OF OLD HONOLULU. “LEGENDS OF 
“ LEGENDS OF MAUI.” “LIFE OF KAMEHAMEHA ” 





ELLIS PRESS, BOSTON. MASS., U.S.A. fjfa 

CONSTABLE & CO., LONDON. G.B 




Copyright, 1915, by 
William Drake Westervelt 
Honolulu, T.H. 

— V 


\ 




Second Edition 


Copyright, 1916, by 
William Drake Westervelt 
Honolulu, T.H. 



NOV 29 1916 


,: BOSTON, U.S.A. 

PRESS OF GEO. H. ELLIS CO. 

LONDON 

CONSTABLE & CO., LTD. 

10 Orange St., Leicester Sq., W.C. 
1916 

Qa A 44 585 3 

nvo 1 v 





CONTENTS 


CHAPTER PAGE 

Foreword . v 

Introduction . viii 

PART I—LEGENDS 

I. The Ghost op Wahaula Temple ... 1 

II. Maluae and the Under-world .... 14 

III. A Giant’s Rock-throwing. 21 

IV. Kalo-eke-eke, the Timid Taro .... 26 

V. Legendary Canoe-making. 29 

VI. Lau-ka-ieie. 36 

VII. Kauhuhu, the Shark-god of Molokai, 49 

VIII. The Shark-man of Waipio Valley . . 59 

IX. The Strange Banana Skin. 66 

X. The Old Man of the Mountain ... 74 

XI. Hawaiian Ghost Testing. 84 

XII. How Milu became the King of Ghosts, 94 

XIII. A Visit to the King of Ghosts . . . 100 

XIV. Kalai-pahoa, the Poison-god.108 

XV. Ke-ao-mele-mele, the Maid of the 

Golden Cloud.116 

XVI. Puna and the Dragon.152 

XVII. Ke-au-nini.163 

XVIII. The Bride from the Under-world . . 224 

PART II—DESCRIPTION 

The Deceiving of Kewa.241 

Homeless and Desolate Ghosts ... 245 

Aumakuas, or Ancestor Ghost-gods . 249 

The Dragon Ghost-gods.256 

Home of the Ancestors.260 

Appendix : 

Honolulu Aquarium Meles 

Bishop Museum Hula 

Polynesian Language Press Notices 

Partial List of Hawaiian Names 



















LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 


Ke-alohi-lani 


Frontispiece i 


Images of Gods at the Heiau . . . . 

From a Taro Patch. 

The Gnarled Koa. 

The Fruit of the Hala. 

Kukui-trees, Iao Valley, Mt. Eeke . . 

A Trusty Fisherman. 

The Old Man of the Mountain . . . 
The Valley at Hanalei, Kauai . . . . 

The Misty Pali, Nuuanu. 

Dancing the Hula. 

Breadfruit-trees . 

A Young Chief of Hawaii. 

The Home of the Dragons near Hilo 

Coconuts. 

The Home of Kewalu. 

Kewa, a Maori Girl. 

Color Plates of Fish. 


OPPOSITE PAGE 
. . . I2V^ 

... 28 V 

... 34 

... 42 

... 50 

... 64 

• • • 74 * / 

• • • 94 / 

... 120 1 

. . . 140 

. . . 160' 

. . . 188 \ 

. . . 198 

. . . 222 r 
. . . 230^ 

. . . 24O 

/ 


















FOREWORD 


The advancement of a people is profoundly 
influenced by three factors, namely: the source 
and quality of their food supply; their contacts 
and associations with other peoples; and their 
religious beliefs and activities. 

It is, perhaps, the last factor that influences 
people most in matters respecting their intellect¬ 
ual development, especially when these beliefs 
and activities are laid out along rational lines. 
As intelligence increases, knowledge is gained 
concerning the various phenomena of life and 
the relation that man bears to the forces of nat¬ 
ure that have an influence over him. Until such 
a state of intelligence is attained, the developing 
race conceives for itself gods, ghosts, and other 
supernatural forms to give it the connected rela¬ 
tions between itself and the things and phenom¬ 
ena of nature which cannot be understood. 
Through the instrumentality of these supernat¬ 
ural forms, the imagination of a people is devel¬ 
oped. Songs and legends originate, blending 
accounts of the lives and exploits of the living 
and dead with those of the supernatural beings, 
and in time these form literature and develop 
arts of great value to the people. 


VI 


FOREWORD 


The ethnology of the peoples of the Pacific is 
an interesting and profitable field for study, and 
especially is this true of the Hawaiian®, for dur¬ 
ing the period within the knowledge of man they 
have shown capacity for rapid intellectual de¬ 
velopment. In the dawn of their history they 
had no written language, but they were rich in 
songs and legends, not only of their own exploits, 
but also of their relations with the superior influ¬ 
ences that guided their destinies. These were 
repeated at fireside and feast, until the imagina¬ 
tion of the people became directive and resource¬ 
ful. So there should be little wonder that they 
learned readily and that their transformation 
under organized government and institutions 
was rapid. 

The chapters that follow are replete with the 
richness of the imagery peculiar to the Polyne¬ 
sian, and no doubt none will appreciate this vol¬ 
ume of legends more than the people of Hawaii 
themselves. May it serve them as a light show¬ 
ing the path they have trod in passing through 
the valley of superstition to the high lands of 
truth and understanding. 

The author is to be congratulated because of 
the patience and persistence with which he has 
worked in this little-known field of ethnology 
and also for the clearness and completeness of 
his narrative. As this part of the world comes 


FOREWORD 


vn 


into the full measure of its importance may this 
book of “Legends of Ghosts and Ghost-gods’’ 
win wide appreciation as a contribution to our 
knowledge of the Pacific Islands. 

J. W. Gilmore, 

Professor of Agronomy, Department of Agriculture, 
University of California, Berkeley, Cal. 
Formerly President College of Hawaii, Honolulu. T. H. 

Budd Hall, 

Berkeley, Cal., 

October, 1916. 


INTRODUCTION 


The legends of the Hawaiian Islands are as 
diverse as those of any country in the world. 
They are also entirely distinct in form and 
thought from the fairy-tales which excite the 
interest and wonder of the English and German 
children. The mythology of Hawaii follows the 
laws upon which all myths are constructed. 
The Islanders have developed some beautiful 
nature-myths. Certain phenomena have been 
observed and the imagination has fitted the 
story to the interesting object which has at¬ 
tracted attention. 

Now the Rainbow Maiden of Manoa, a valley 
lying back of Honolulu, is the story of a princess 
whose continual death and resurrection were 
invented to harmonize with the formation of a 
series of exquisite rainbows which are born on 
the mountain-sides in the upper end of the valley 
and die when the mist clouds reach the plain 
into which the valley opens. Then there were 
the fish of the Hawaiian Islands which vie with 
the butterflies of South America in their multi¬ 
tudinous combinations of colors. These im- 



INTRODUCTION 


IX 


aginative people wondered how the fish were 
painted, so for a story a battle between two 
chiefs was either invented or taken as a basis. 
The chiefs fought on the mountain-sides until 
finally one was driven into the sea and com¬ 
pelled to make the deep waters his continual 
abiding-place. Here he found a unique and 
pleasant occupation in calling the various kinds 
of fish to his submarine home and then paint¬ 
ing them in gay hues according to the dictates 
of his fancy. Thus we have a pure nature-myth 
developed from the love of the beautiful, one 
of the highest emotions dwelling in the hearts 
of the Hawaiians of the long ago. 

So, again, Maui, a wonder-working hero like 
the Hercules of Grecian mythology, heard the 
birds sing, and noted their beautiful forms as 
they flitted from tree to tree and mingled their 
bright plumage with the leaves of the fragrant 
blossoms. 

No other one of those who lived in the long 
ago could see what Maui saw. They heard the 
mysterious music, but the songsters were in¬ 
visible. Many were the fancies concerning 
these strange creatures whom they could hear 
but could not see. Maui finally pitied his friends 
and made the birds visible. Ever since, man has 
been able to both hear the music and see the 
beauty of his forest neighbors. 


X 


INTRODUCTION 


Such nature-myths as these are well worthy of 
preservation by the side of any European fairy¬ 
tale. In purity of thought, vividness of imagina¬ 
tion, and delicacy of coloring the Hawaiian 
myths are to be given a high place in literature 
among the stories of nature vivified by the im¬ 
agination. 

Another side of Hawaiian folk-lore is just as 
worthy of comparison. Lovers of “Jack-the- 
Giant-Killer,” and of the many wonder-workers 
dwelling in the mist-lands of other nations, would 
enjoy reading the marvelous record of Maui, 
the skilful demi-god of Hawaii, who went fish¬ 
ing with a magic hook, and pulled up from the 
depths of the ocean groups of islands. This 
story is told in a matter-of-fact way, as if it were 
a fishing-excursion only a little out of the ordinary 
course. Maui lived in a land where volcanic 
fires were always burning in the mountains. 
Nevertheless it was a little inconvenient to walk 
thirty or forty miles for a live coal after the chill 
winds of the night had put out the fire which 
had been carefully protected the day before. 
Thus, when he saw that some intelligent birds 
knew the art of making a fire, he captured the 
leader and forced him to tell the secret of rubbing 
certain sticks together until fire came. 

Maui also made snares, captured the sun and 
compelled it to journey regularly and slowly 


INTRODUCTION 


xi 


across the heavens. Thus the day was regulated 
to meet the wants of mankind. He lifted the 
heavens after they had rested so long upon all 
the plants that their leaves were flat. 

There was a ledge of rock in one of the rivers, 
so Maui uprooted a tree and pushed it through, 
making an easy passage for both water and man. 
He invented many helpful articles for the use of 
mankind, but meanwhile frequently filled the 
days of his friends with trouble on account of the 
mischievous pranks which he played on them. 

Fairies and gnomes dwelt in the woodland, 
coming forth at night to build temples, or massive 
walls, to fashion canoes, or whisper warnings. 
The birds and the fishes were capable and intel¬ 
ligent guardians over the households which had 
adopted them as protecting deities. Birds of 
brilliant plumage and sweet song were always 
faithful attendants on the chiefs, and able to 
converse with those over whom they kept watch. 
Sharks and other mighty fish of the deep waters 
were reliable messengers for those who rendered 
them sacrifices, often carrying their devotees 
from island to island and protecting them from 
many dangers. 

Sometimes the gruesome and horrible creeps 
into Hawaiian folk-lore. A poison tree figures 
in the legends and finally becomes one of the 
most feared of all the gods of Hawaii. A can- 


xii INTRODUCTION 

nibal dog, cannibal ghosts, and even a cannibal 
chief are prominent among the noted characters 
of the past. 

Then the power of praying a person to death * 
with the aid of departed spirits was used, and is 
believed in, at the present time. 

Almost every valley of the island has its 
peculiar and interesting myth. Often there is a 
historical foundation which has been dealt with 
fancifully and enlarged into miraculous propor¬ 
tions. There are hidden caves, which can be 
entered only by diving under the great breakers 
or into the deep waters of inland pools, around 
which cluster tales of love and adventure. 

There are many mythological characters whose 
journeys extend to all the islands of the group. 
The Maui stories are not limited to the large 
island Hawaii and a part of the adjoining island 
which bears the name of Maui, but these stories 
are told in a garbled form on all the islands. So 
Pele, the fire-goddess, who dwelt in the hottest 
regions of the most active volcanoes, belongs to 
all, and also Kamapuaa, who is sometimes her 
husband, but more frequently her enemy. The 
conflicts between the two are often suggested 
by destructive lava flows checked by storms or 
ocean waves. It cannot be suspected that the 
ancient Hawaiian had the least idea of deifying 
fire and water—and yet the continual conflict 

* Pule anaana. 


INTRODUCTION 


xm 


between man and woman is like the eternal 
enmity between the two antagonistic elements of 
nature. 

When the borders of mist-land are crossed, 
a rich store of folk-lore with a historical foun¬ 
dation is discovered. Chiefs and gods mingle 
together as in the days of the Nibelungen Lied. 
Voyages are made to many distant islands of the 
Pacific Ocean, whose names are frequently men¬ 
tioned in the songs and tales of the wandering 
heroes. A chief from Samoa establishes a royal 
family on the largest of the Hawaiian Islands, 
and a chief from the Hawaiian group becomes a 
ruler in Tahiti. 

Indeed the rovers of the Pacific have tales of 
seafaring which equal the accounts of the voy¬ 
ages of the Vikings. 

The legends of the Hawaiian Islands are valu¬ 
able in themselves, in that they reveal an under¬ 
standing of the phenomena of nature and unveil 
their early history with its mythological setting. 
They are also valuable for comparison with the 
legends of the other Pacific islands, and they are 
exceedingly interesting when contrasted with 
the folk-lore of other nations. 

The following legends treat of the worship 
of the lesser gods of Hawaii and of the do¬ 
mestic life of the Kanakas. 


The Author. 


PRONUNCIATION 


“A syllable in Hawaiian may consist of a single vowel, or 
a consonant united with a vowel or at most of a consonant 
and two vowels, never of more than one consonant. The ac¬ 
cent of five-sixths of the words is on the penult, and a few 
proper names accent the first syllable. 

In Hawaiian every syllable ends in a vowel and no syllable 
can have more than three letters, generally not more than 
two and a large number of syllables consist of single letters— 
vowels. Hence the vowel sounds greatly predominate over 
the consonant. The language may therefore appear monot¬ 
onous to one unacquainted with its force. 

In Hawaiian there is a great lack of generic terms, as is the 
case with all uncultivated languages. No people have use 
for generic terms until they begin to reason and the language 
shows that they were better warriors and poets than philos¬ 
ophers and statesmen. Their language, however, richly 
abounds in specific names and epithets. 

The general rule, then, is that the accent falls on the penult; 
but there are many exceptions and some words which look 
the same to the eye take on entirely different meanings by 
different tones, accents, or inflections. 

The study of these kaaos or legends would demonstrate that 
the Hawaiians possessed a language not only adapted to their 
former necessities but capable of being used in introducing 
the arts of civilized society and especially of pure morals, of 
law, and the religion of the Bible.” 

The above quotations are from Lorrin Andrew’s Dictionary of the Ha¬ 
waiian Language, containing some 15,500 Hawaiian words, printed in 
Honolulu in 1865. 

a is sounded as in father 



e “ 

(C 

u 

u 

they 


i “ 

a 

(( 

u 

marine 


0 “ 

u 

U 

u 

note 

Hawaiian vowels < 

u“ 

u 

u 

u 

rule or as 00 in moon 


ai when sounded as a diphthong resem¬ 
bles English ay 

au when sounded as a diphthong resem¬ 
bles ou as in loud 

The consonants are h, k, l, m, n, p , and w. No distinction 
is made between k and t or l and r, and w sounds like v between 
the penult and final syllable of a word. 




PART I 


LEGENDS 


I 


THE GHOST OF WAHAULA TEMPLE 
AWAIIAN temples were never works of 



art. Broken lava was always near the 


site. Unhewn stones were piled into 
massive walls and laid in terraces for altar and 
floors. Water-worn pebbles were carried from 
the beach and strewn over the floor, making a 
smooth place for the naked feet of the temple 
dwellers to pass without injury from the sharp- 
edged lava. Rude grass huts built on terraces 
were the abodes of the priests and high chiefs 
who visited the places of sacrifice. Elevated, 
flat-topped piles of stones were built at one 
end of the temple for the chief idols and the 
sacrifices placed before them. Simplicity of 
detail marked every step of temple erection. 







2 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


No hewn pillars or arched gateways of even 
the most primitive designs can be found in any 
of the temples whether of recent date or belong¬ 
ing to remote antiquity. There was no attempt 
at ornamentation even in the images of the great 
gods which they worshipped. Crude and hide¬ 
ous were the images before which they offered 
sacrifice and prayer. In themselves the heiaus, 
or temples, of the Hawaiian Islands have but 
little attraction. To-day they seem more like 
massive walled cattle-pens than places which 
have been used for worship. On the southeast 
coast of Hawaii near Kalapana is one of the 
largest, oldest, and best preserved heiaus. It 
is worthy the name of temple only as it is inti¬ 
mately associated with the religious customs of 
the Hawaiians. Its walls are several feet thick 
and in places ten to twelve feet high. It is di¬ 
vided into rooms or pens, in one of which still 
lies the huge sacrificial stone upon which victims 
—sometimes human—were slain before the bodies 
were placed as offerings in front of the hideous 
idols leaning against the stone walls. 

This heiau is now called Wahaula (red-mouth). 
In ancient times it was known as Ahaula (the 
red assembly), possibly denoting that at times 
the priests and their attendants wore red man¬ 
tles in their processions or during some part of 
their sacred ceremonies. 


THE GHOST OF WAH AULA TEMPLE 3 

This temple is said to be the oldest of all the 
Hawaiian heiaus—except possibly the heiau at 
Kohala on the northern coast of the same island. 
These two heiaus date back in tradition to the 
time of Paao, the priest from Upolu, Samoa, who 
was said to have built them. He was the tradi¬ 
tional father of the priestly line which ran parallel 
to the royal genealogy of the Kamehamehas 
during several centuries until the last high priest, 
Hewahewa, became a follower of Jesus Christ— 
the Saviour of the world. This was the last 
heiau destroyed when the ancient tabus and 
ceremonial rites were overthrown by the chiefs 
just before the coming of Christian missionaries. 
At that time the grass houses of the priests were 
burned and in these raging flames were thrown 
the wooden idols back of the altars and the bam¬ 
boo huts of the soothsayers and the rude images 
on the walls, with everything combustible which 
belonged to the ancient order of worship. Only 
the walls and rough stone floors were left in the 
temple. 

In the outer temple court was the most noted 
sacred grave in all the islands. Earth had been 
carried from the mountain-sides inland. Leaves 
and decaying trees added to the permanency of 
the soil. Here in a most unlikely place it was 
said that all the varieties of trees then found in 
the islands had been gathered by the priests— 


4 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


the descendants of Paao. To this day the grave 
stands by the temple walls, an object of super¬ 
stitious awe among the natives. Many of the 
varieties of trees planted there have died, leaving 
only those which were more hardy and needed 
less priestly care than they received a hundred 
years or more ago. 

The temple is built near the coast on the rough, 
sharp, broken rocks of an ancient lava flow. In 
many places in and around the temple the lava 
was dug out, making holes three or four feet across 
and from one to two feet deep. These in the 
days of the priesthood had been filled with earth 
brought in baskets from the mountains. Here 
they raised sweet potatoes and taro and bananas. 
Now the rains have washed the soil away and 
to the unknowing there is no sign of previous 
agriculture. Near these depressions and along 
the paths leading to Wahaula other holes were 
sometimes cut out of the hard fine-grained lava. 
When heavy rains fell, little grooves carried the 
drops of water to these holes and they became 
small cisterns. Here the thirsty messengers 
running from one priestly clan to another, or 
the traveller or worshippers coming to the sacred 
place, could almost always find a few drops of 
water to quench their thirst. 

Usually these water-holes were covered with 
a large flat stone under which the water ran into 


THE GHOST OF W AH AULA TEMPLE 5 


the cistern. To this day these small water- 
places border the path across the pahoehoe * lava 
field which lies adjacent to the broken a-a f lava 
upon which the Wahaula heiau is built. Many 
of them are still covered as in the days of the 
long ago. 

It is not strange that legends have developed 
through the mists of the centuries around this 
rude old temple. 

Wahaula was a tabu temple of the very highest 
rank. The native chants said, 

“No keia heiau oia ke kapu enaena.” 

(“Concerning this heiau is the burning tabu.”) 

“Enaena” means “burning with a red hot 
rage.” The heiau was so thoroughly “tabu,” or 
“kapu,” that the smoke of its fires falling upon 
any of the people or even upon any one of the 
chiefs was sufficient cause for punishment by 
death, with the body as a sacrifice to the gods 
of the temple. 

These gods were of the very highest rank 
among the Hawaiian deities. Certain days were 
tabu to Lono—or Rongo, as he was known in 
other island groups of the Pacific Ocean. Other 
days belonged to Ku—who was also worshipped 
from New Zealand to Tahiti. At other times 
Kane, known as Tane by many Polynesians, 
was held supreme. Then again Kanaloa—or 

t A-a is rough lava. 


* Pahoehoe is smooth lava. 


6 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


Tanaroa, sometimes worshipped in Samoa and 
other island groups as the greatest of all their 
gods—had his days especially set apart for sacri¬ 
fice and chant. 

The Mu, or “body-catcher,” of this heiau 
with his assistants seems to have been continually 
on the watch for human victims, and woe to 
the unfortunate man who carelessly or igno¬ 
rantly walked where the winds blew the smoke 
from the temple fires. No one dared rescue him 
from the hands of the hunter of men—for then 
the wrath of all the gods was sure to follow him 
all the days of his life. 

The people of the districts around Wahaula 
always watched the course of the winds with 
great anxiety, carefully noting the direction 
taken by the smoke. This smoke was the 
shadow cast by the deity worshipped, and was 
far more sacred than the shadow of the highest 
chief or king in all the islands. 

It was always sufficient cause for death if a 
common man allowed his shadow to fall upon 
any tabu chief, i.e., a chief of especially high 
rank; but in this “burning tabu,” if any man 
permitted the smoke or shadow of the god 
who was being worshipped in this temple to 
come near to him or overshadow him, it was a 
mark of such great disrespect that the god was 
supposed to be enaena, or red hot with rage. 


THE GHOST OF WAHAULA TEMPLE 7 


Many ages ago a young chief whom we shall 
know by the name Kahele determined to take 
an especial journey around the island visiting 
all the noted and sacred places and becoming 
acquainted with the alii, or chiefs, of the other 
districts. 

He passed from place to place, taking part 
with the chiefs who entertained him sometimes 
in the use of the papa-hee, or surf-board, riding 
the white-capped surf as it majestically swept 
shoreward—sometimes spending night after night 
in the innumerable gambling contests which 
passed under the name pili waiwai—and some¬ 
times riding the narrow sled, or holua, with which 
Hawaiian chiefs raced down the steep grassed 
lanes. Then again, with a deep sense of the 
solemnity of sacred things, he visited the most 
noted of the heiaus and made contributions to 
the offerings before the gods. Thus the days 
passed, and the slow journey was very pleasant 
to Kahele. 

In time he came to Puna, the district in which 
was located the temple Wahaula. 

But alas! in the midst of the many stories of 
the past which he had heard, and the many 
pleasures he had enjoyed while on his journey, 
Kahele forgot the peculiar power of the tabu of 
the smoke of Wahaula. The fierce winds of 
the south were blowing and changing from 


8 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


point to point. The young man saw the sacred 
grove in the edge of which the temple walls 
could be discerned. Thin wreaths of smoke were 
tossed here and there from the temple fires. 

Kahele hastened toward the temple. The Mu 
was watching his coming and joyfully marking 
him as a victim. The altars of the gods were 
desolate, and if but a particle of smoke fell upon 
the young man no one could keep him from 
the hands of the executioner. 

The perilous moment came. The warm 
breath of one of the fires touched the young 
chief’s cheek. Soon a blow from the club of 
the Mu laid him senseless on the rough stones 
of the outer court of the temple. The smoke of 
the wrath of the gods had fallen upon him, and 
it was well that he should lie as a sacrifice upon 
their altars. 

Soon the body with the life still in it was 
thrown across the sacrificial stone. Sharp 
knives made from the strong wood of the bamboo 
let his life-blood flow down the depressions across 
the face of the stone. Quickly the body was 
dismembered and offered as a sacrifice. 

For some reason the priests, after the flesh 
had decayed, set apart the bones for some 
special purpose. The legends imply that the 
bones were to be treated dishonorably. It may 
have been that the bones were folded together 


THE GHOST OF WAHAULA TEMPLE 9 


and known as unihipili, bones, folded and laid 
away for purposes of incantation. Such bundles 
of bones were put through a process of prayers 
and charms until at last it was thought a new 
spirit was created which dwelt in that bundle 
and gave the possessor a peculiar power in deeds 
of witchcraft. 

The spirit of Kahele rebelled against this dis¬ 
position of all that remained of his body. He 
wanted to be back in his native district, that 
he might enjoy the pleasures of the Under-world 
with his own chosen companions. Restlessly 
the spirit haunted the dark corners of the temple, 
watching the priests as they handled his bones. 

Helplessly the ghost fumed and fretted against 
its condition. It did all that a disembodied spirit 
could do to attract the attention of the priests. 

At last the spirit fled by night from this place 
of torment to the home which he had so joyfully 
left a short time before. 

Kahele’s father was the high chief of Kau. 
Surrounded by retainers, he passed his days in 
quietness and peace waiting for the return of 
his son. 

One night a strange dream came to him. He 
heard a voice calling from the mysterious con¬ 
fines of the spirit-land. As he listened, a spirit 
form stood by his side. The ghost was that of 
his son Kahele. 


IO 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


By means of the dream the ghost revealed to 
the father that he had been put to death and 
that his bones were in great danger of dishonorable 
treatment. 

The father awoke benumbed with fear, realizing 
that his son was calling upon him for immediate 
help. At once he left his people and journeyed 
from place to place secretly, not knowing where 
or when Kahele had died, but fully sure that the 
spirit of his vision was that of his son. It was 
not difficult to trace the young man. He had 
left his footprints openly all along the way. 
There was nothing of shame or dishonor—and 
the father’s heart filled with pride as he hastened 
on. 

From time to time, however, he heard the 
spirit voice calling him to save the bones of the 
body of his dead son. At last he felt that his 
journey was nearly done. He had followed the 
footsteps of Kahele almost entirely around the 
island, and had come to Puna—the last district 
before his own land of Kau would welcome his 
return. 

The spirit voice could be heard now in the 
dream which nightly came to him. Warnings 
and directions were frequently given. 

Then the chief came to the lava fields of 
Wahaula and lay down to rest. The ghost 
came to him again in a dream, telling him that 


THE GHOST OF WAHAULA TEMPLE II 


great personal danger was near at hand. The 
chief was a very strong man, excelling in 
athletic and brave deeds, but in obedience to the 
spirit voice he rose early in the morning, secured 
oily nuts from a kukui *-tree, beat out the oil, and 
anointed himself thoroughly. 

Walking along carelessly as if to avoid sus¬ 
picion, he drew near to the lands of the temple 
Wahaula. Soon a man came out to meet him. 
This man was an Olohe, a beardless man belong¬ 
ing to a lawless robber clan which infested the 
district, possibly assisting the man-hunters of 
the temple in securing victims for the temple 
altars. This Olohe was very strong and self- 
confident, and thought he would have but little 
difficulty in destroying this stranger who jour¬ 
neyed alone through Puna. 

Almost all day the battle raged between the 
two men. Back and forth they forced each 
other over the lava beds. The chief’s well-oiled 
body was very difficult for the Olohe to grasp. 
Bruised and bleeding from repeated falls on the 
rough lava, both of the combatants were becoming 
very weary. Then the chief made a new attack, 
forcing the Olohe into a narrow place from which 
there was no escape, and at last seizing him, 
breaking his bones, and then killing him. 

As the shadows of night rested over the temple 


* Aleurites Moluccana. 


12 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


and its sacred grave the chief crept closer to 
the dreaded tabu walls. Concealing himself 
he waited for the ghost to reveal to him the best 
plan for action. The ghost came, but was com¬ 
pelled to bid the father wait patiently for a fit 
time when the secret place in which the bones 
were hidden could be safely visited. 

For several days and nights the chief hid him¬ 
self near the temple. He secretly uttered the 
prayers and incantations needed to secure the 
protection of his family gods. 

One night the darkness was very great, and the 
priests and watchmen of the temple felt sure that 
no one would attempt to enter the sacred precincts. 
Deep sleep rested upon all the temple-dwellers. 

Then the ghost of Kahele hastened to the place 
where the father was sleeping and aroused him 
for the dangerous task before him. 

As the father arose he saw this ghost outlined 
in the darkness, beckoning him to follow. Step 
by step he felt his way cautiously over the rough 
path and along the temple walls until he saw 
the ghost standing near a great rock pointing at 
a part of the wall. 

The father seized a stone which seemed to 
be the one most directly in the line of the ghost’s 
pointing. To his surprise it was removed very 
easily from the wall. Back of it was a hollow 
place in which lay a bundle of folded bones. 


IMAGES OF GODS AT THE HEIAU 

































































































































































































THE GHOST OF W AH AULA TEMPLE 13 


The ghost urged the chief to take these bones 
and depart quickly. 

The father obeyed, and followed the spirit 
guide until safely away from the temple of the 
burning wrath of the gods. He carried the bones 
to Kau and placed them in his own secret family 
burial cave. 

The ghost of Wahaula went down to the spirit 
world in great joy. Death had come. The life 
of the young chief had been taken for temple 
service and yet there had at last been nothing 
dishonorable connected with the destruction of 
the body and the passing away of the spirit. 




LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


*4 


II 



MALUAE AND THE UNDER-WORLD 

HIS is a story from Manoa Valley, back 
of Honolulu. In the upper end of the 
valley, at the foot of the highest moun¬ 
tains on the island Oahu, lived Maluae. He was 
a farmer, and had chosen this land because rain 
fell abundantly on the mountains, and the streams 
brought down fine soil from the decaying forests 
and disintegrating rocks, fertilizing his plants. 

Here he cultivated bananas* and tarof and 
sweet potatoes. His bananas grew rapidly by 
the sides of the brooks, and yielded large bunches 
of fruit from their tree-like stems; his taro filled 
small walled-in pools, growing in the water like 
water-lilies, until the roots were matured, when 
the plants were pulled up and the roots boiled and 
prepared for food; his sweet potatoes—a vege¬ 
table known among the ancient New Zealanders 
as ku-maru, and supposed to have come from 
Hawaii—were planted on the drier uplands. 

Thus he had plenty of food continually grow¬ 
ing, and ripening from time to time. Whenever 
he gathered any of his food products he brought 
a part to his family temple and placed it on an 


* Maia or Musa sapientum. 
t Calocasia antiquorum. 






MALUAE AND THE UNDER-WORLD 15 

altar before the gods Kane and Kanaloa, then he 
took the rest to his home for his family to eat. 

He had a boy whom he dearly loved, whose 
name was Kaa-lii (rolling chief).. This boy was 
a careless, rollicking child. 

One day the boy was tired and hungry. He 
passed by the temple of the gods and saw bananas, 
ripe and sweet, on the little platform before the 
gods. He took these bananas and ate them all. 

The gods looked down on the altar expecting 
to find food, but it was all gone and there was 
nothing for them. They were very angry, and 
ran out after the boy. They caught him eating 
the bananas, and killed him. The body they 
left lying under the trees, and taking out his 
ghost threw it into the Under-world. 

The father toiled hour after hour cultivating 
his food plants, and when wearied returned to 
his home. On the way he met the two gods. 
They told him how his boy had robbed them 
of their sacrifices and how they had punished 
him. They said, “We have sent his ghost body 
to the lowest regions of the Under-world. ,, 

The father was very sorrowful and heavy- 
hearted as he went on his way to his desolate 
home. He searched for the body of his boy, and 
at last found it. He saw too that the story of 
the gods was true, for partly eaten bananas 
filled the mouth, which was set in death. 


i6 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


He wrapped the body very carefully in kapa 
cloth made from the bark of trees.* He 
carried it into his rest-house and laid it on the 
sleeping-mat. After a time he lay down beside 
the body, refusing all food, and planning to die 
with his boy. He thought if he could escape 
from his own body he would be able to go down 
where the ghost of his boy had been sent. If 
he could find that ghost he hoped to take it to 
the other part of the Under-world, where they 
could be happy together. 

He placed no offerings on the altar of the 
gods. No prayers were chanted. The after¬ 
noon and evening passed slowly. The gods 
waited for their worshipper, but he came not. 
They looked down on the altar of sacrifice, but 
there was nothing for them. 

The night passed and the following day. The 
father lay by the side of his son, neither eating 
nor drinking, and longing only for death. The 
house was tightly closed. 

Then the gods talked together, and Kane said: 
“Maluae eats no food, he prepares no awa to 
drink, and there is no water by him. He is near 
the door of the Under-world. If he should die, 
we would be to blame.” 

Kanaloa said: “He has been a good man, but 
now we do not hear any prayers. We are losing 

* Trees used for kapa were the hau, olona, akala, maaloa, mamaki, 
pouli, and wauke. 


MALUAE AND THE UNDER-WORLD 17 


our worshipper. We in quick anger killed his 
son. Was this the right reward? He has called 
us morning and evening in his worship. He has 
provided fish and fruits and vegetables for our 
altars. He has always prepared awa* from the 
juice of the yellow awa root for us to drink. We 
have not paid him well for his care.” 

Then they decided to go and give life to the 
father, and permit him to take his ghost body 
and go down into Po, the dark land, to bring 
back the ghost of the boy. So they went to 
Maluae and told him they were sorry for what 
they had done. 

The father was very weak from hunger, and long¬ 
ing for death, and could scarcely listen to them. 

When Kane said, “Have you love for your 
child?” the father whispered: “Yes. 1 My love 
is without end.” “Can you go down into the 
dark land and get that spirit and put it back in 
the body which lies here?” 

“No,” the father said, “no, I can only die 
and go to live with him and make him happier 
by taking him to a better place.” 

Then the gods said, “We will give you the 
power to go after your boy and we will help you 
to escape the dangers of the land of ghosts.” 

Then the father, stirred by hope, rose up 
and took food and drink. Soon he was strong 
enough to go on his journey. 

* Piper methysticum. 


i8 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


The gods gave him a ghost body and also 
prepared a hollow stick like bamboo, in which 
they put food, battle-weapons, and a piece of 
burning lava for fire. 

Not far from Honolulu is a beautiful modern 
estate with fine roads, lakes, running brooks, 
and interesting valleys extending back into 
the mountain range. This is called by the very 
ancient name Moanalua (two lakes). Near 
the seacoast of this estate was one of the most 
noted ghost localities of the islands. The ghosts 
after wandering over the island Oahu would 
come to this place to find a way into their real 
home, the Under-world or Po. 

Here was a ghostly breadfruit-tree* named 
Lei-walo, possibly meaning “the eight wreaths” 
or “ the eighth wreath”—the last wreath of leaves 
from the land of the living which would meet 
the eyes of the dying. 

The ghosts would leap or fly or climb into the 
branches of this tree, trying to find a rotten 
branch upon which they could sit until it broke 
and threw them into the dark sea below. 

Maluae climbed up the breadfruit-tree. He 
found a branch where ghosts were sitting waiting 
for it to fall. His weight was so much greater 
than theirs that the branch broke at once, and 
down they all fell into the land of Po. 

He needed merely to taste the food in his hollow 

* Ulu or Artocarpus incisa. 


MALUAE AND THE UNDER-WORLD 19 

cane to have new life and strength. This he had 
done when he climbed the tree; thus he had been 
able to push past the fabled guardians of the 
pathway of the ghosts in the Upper-world. As 
he entered the Under-world he again tasted the 
food of the gods and he felt himself growing 
stronger and stronger. 

He took a magic war-club and a spear out of 
the cane given by the gods. Ghostly warriors 
tried to hinder his entrance into the different 
districts of the dark land. The spirits of dead 
chiefs challenged him when he passed their 
homes. Battle after battle was fought. His 
magic club struck the warriors down, and his 
spear tossed them aside. 

Sometimes he was warmly greeted and aided 
by ghosts of kindly spirit. Thus he went from 
place to place, searching for his boy, finding him 
at last, as the Hawaiians quaintly expressed it, 
“down in the papa-ku” (the established founda¬ 
tion of Po), choking and suffocating from the 
bananas of ghost-land which he was compelled 
to continually force into his mouth. 

The father caught the spirit of the boy and 
started back toward the Upper-world, but the 
ghosts surrounded him. They tried to catch 
him and take the spirit away from him. Again 
the father partook of the food of the gods. Once 
more he wielded his war-club, but the hosts of 


20 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


enemies were too great. Multitudes arose on 
all sides, crushing him by their overwhelming 
numbers. 

At last he raised his magic hollow cane and 
took the last portion of food. Then he poured 
out the portion of burning lava which the gods 
had placed inside. It fell upon the dry floor of 
the Under-world. The flames dashed into the 
trees and the shrubs of ghost-land. Fire-holes 
opened and streams of lava burst out. 

Backward fled the multitudes of spirits. The 
father thrust the spirit of the boy quickly into 
the empty magic cane and rushed swiftly up to 
his home-land. He brought the spirit to the 
body lying in the rest-house and forced it to find 
again its living home. 

Afterward the father and the boy took food 
to the altars of the gods, and chanted the accus¬ 
tomed prayers heartily and loyally all the rest 
of their lives. 




GIANT’S ROCK-THROWING 

POINT of land on the northwestern 
coast of the island Oahu is called Ka- 
lae-o-Kaena which means “The Cape of 

Kaena.” 

A short distance from this cape lies a large 
rock which bears the name Pohaku-o-Kauai, or 
rock of Kauai, a large island northwest of Oahu. 
This rock is as large as a small house. 

There is an interesting legend told on the island 
of Oahu which explains why these names have 
for generations been fastened to the cape and to 
the rock. A long time ago there lived on Kauai 
a man of wonderful power, Hau-pu. When he 
was born, the signs of a demi-god were over the 
house of his birth. Lightning flashed through 
the skies, and thunder reverberated—a rare 
event in the Hawaiian Islands, and supposed to 
be connected with the birth or death or some 
very unusual occurrence in the life of a chief. 

Mighty floods of rain fell and poured in tor- 









22 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


rents down the mountain-sides, carrying the red 
iron soil into the valleys in such quantities that 
the rapids and the waterfalls became the color 
of blood, and the natives called this a blood-rain. 

During the storm, and even after sunshine 
filled the valley, a beautiful rainbow rested over 
the house in which the young chief was born. 
This rainbow was thought to come from the 
miraculous powers of the new-born child shining 
out from him instead of from the sunlight around 
him. Many chiefs throughout the centuries of 
Hawaiian legends were said to have had this 
rainbow around them all their lives. 

Hau-pu while a child was very powerful, and 
after he grew up was widely known as a great 
warrior. He would attack and defeat armies of 
his enemies without aid from any person. His 
spear was like a mighty weapon, sometimes 
piercing a host of enemies, and sometimes putting 
aside all opposition when he thrust it into the 
ranks of his opponents. 

If he had thrown his spear and if fighting with 
his bare hands did not vanquish his foes, he 
would leap to the hillside, tear up a great tree, 
and with it sweep away all before him as if he 
were wielding a huge broom. He was known 
and feared throughout all the Hawaiian Islands. 
He became angry quickly and used his great 
powers very rashly. 


A GIANTS ROCK-THROWING 


23 


One night he lay sleeping in his royal rest- 
house on the side of a mountain which faced the 
neighboring island of Oahu. Between the two 
islands lay a broad channel about thirty miles 
wide. When clouds were on the face of the sea, 
these islands were hidden from each other; but 
when they lifted, the rugged valleys of the 
mountains on one island could be clearly seen 
from the other. Even by moonlight the shadowy 
lines would appear. 

This night the strong man stirred in his sleep. 
Indistinct noises seemed to surround his house. 
He turned over and dropped off into slumber 
again. 

Soon he was aroused a second time, and he 
was awake enough to hear shouts of men far, 
far away. Louder rose the noise mixed with 
the roar of the great surf waves, so he realized 
that it came from the sea, and he then forced 
himself to rise and stumble to the door. 

He looked out toward Oahu. A multitude of 
lights were flashing on the sea before his sleepy 
eyes. A low murmur of many voices came from 
the place where the dancing lights seemed to be. 
His confused thoughts made it appear to him 
that a great fleet of warriors was coming from 
Oahu to attack his people. 

He blindly rushed out to the edge of a high 
precipice which overlooked the channel. Evi- 


24 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


dently many boats and many people were out 
in the sea below. 

He laughed, and stooped down and tore a huge 
rock from its place. This he swung back and 
forth, back and forth, back and forth, until he 
gave it great impetus which added to his own 
miraculous power sent it far out over the sea. 
Like a great cloud it rose in the heavens and, as 
if blown by swift winds, sped on its way. 

Over on the shores of Oahu a chief whose 
name was Kaena had called his people out for 
a night’s fishing. Canoes large and small came 
from all along the coast. Torches without num¬ 
ber had been made and placed in the canoes. 
The largest fish-nets had been brought. 

There was no need of silence. Nets had been 
set in the best places. Fish of all kinds were t° 
be aroused and frightened into the nets. Flash¬ 
ing lights, splashing paddles, and clamor from 
hundreds of voices resounded all around the nets. 

Gradually the canoes came nearer and nearer 
the centre. The shouting increased. Great joy 
ruled the tumult which drowned the roar of the 
waves. 

Across the channel and up the mountain-sides 
of Kauai swept the shouts of the fishing-party. 
Into the ears of drowsy Hau-pu the noise forced 
itself. Little dreamed the excited fishermen of 
the effect of this on far-away Kauai. 


A GIANT'S ROCK-THROWING 


2 5 


Suddenly something like a bird as large as a 
mountain seemed to be above, and then with a 
mighty sound like the roar of winds it descended 
upon them. 

Smashed and submerged were the canoes when 
the huge boulder thrown by Hau-pu hurled itself 
upon them. 

The chief Kaena and his canoe were in the 
centre of this terrible mass of wreckage, and he 
and many of his people lost their lives. 

The waves swept sand upon the shore until in 
time a long point of land was formed. The 
remaining followers of the dead chief named this 
cape “Kaena.” 

The rock thrown by Hau-pu embedded itself 
in the depths of the ocean, but its head rose 
far above the water, even when raging storms 
dashed turbulent waves against it. To this 
death-dealing rock the natives gave the name 
“Rock of Kauai.” 

Thus for generations has the deed of the man 
of giant force been remembered on Oahu, and so 
have a cape and a rock received their names. 



26 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


IV 

KALO-EKE-EKE, THE TIMID TARO 

MYTH is a purely imaginative story. 
A legend is a story with some founda¬ 
tion in fact. A fable tacks on a moral. 
A tradition is a myth or legend or fact handed 
down from generation to generation. 

The old Hawaiians were frequently myth- 
makers. They imagined many a fairy-story for 
the different localities of the islands, and these 
are very interesting. The myth of the two taro 
plants belongs to South Kona, Hawaii, and 
affords an excellent illustration of Hawaiian 
imagination. The story is told in different ways, 
and came to the writer in the present form: 

A chief lived on the mountain-side above 
Hookena. There his people cultivated taro, 
made kapa cloth, and prepared the trunks of 
koa-trees for canoes. He had a very fine taro 
patch. The plants prided themselves upon their 
rapid and perfect growth. 

In one part of the taro pond, side by side, 
grew two taro plants—finer, stronger, and more 
beautiful than the others. The leaf stalks bent 
over in more perfect curves: the leaves developed 
in graceful proportions. Mutual admiration 








KALO-EKE-EKE, THE TIMID TARO 27 


filled the hearts of the two taro * plants and re¬ 
sulted in pledges of undying affection. 

One day the chief was talking to his servants 
about the food to be made ready for a feast. He 
ordered the two especially fine taro plants to be 
pulled up. One of the servants came to the 
home of the two lovers and told them that they 
were to be taken by the chief. 

Because of their great affection for each other 
they determined to cling to life as long as possible, 
and therefore moved to another part of the taro 
patch, leaving their neighbors to be pulled up 
instead of themselves. 

But the chief soon saw them in their new home 
and again ordered their destruction. Again they 
fled. This happened from time to time until 
the angry chief determined that they should be 
taken, no matter what part of the pond they 
might be in. 

The two taro plants thought best to flee, 
therefore took to themselves wings and made a 
short flight to a neighboring taro patch. Here 
again their enemy found them. A second flight 
was made to another part of South Kona, and 
then to still another, until all Kona was inter¬ 
ested in the perpetual pursuit and the perpetual 
escape. At last there was no part of Kona in 
which they could be concealed. A friend of the 
angry chief would reveal their hiding-place, while 

* Also kalo, Calocasia antiquorum. 


28 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


one of their own friends would give warning of 
the coming of their pursuer. At last they leaped 
into the air and flew on and on until they were 
utterly weary and fell into a taro patch near 
Waiohinu. But their chief had ordered the imu 
(cooking-place) to be made ready for them, and 
had hastened along the way on foot, trying to 
capture them if at any time they should try to 
alight. However, their wings moved more swiftly 
than his feet, so they had a little rest before he 
came near to their new home. Then again they 
lifted themselves into the sky. Favoring winds 
carried them along and they flew a great distance 
away from South Kona into the neighboring 
district of Kau. Here they found a new home 
under a kindly chief. Here they settled down 
and lived many years under the name of Kalo- 
eke-eke, or “The Timid Taro.” A large family 
grew up about them and a happy old age blessed 
their declining days. 

It is possible that this beautiful little story 
may have grown out of the ancient Hawaiian 
unwritten law which sometimes permitted the 
subjects of a chief to move away from their home 
and transfer their allegiance to some neighboring 
ruler. 




FROM A TARO PATCH 









LEGENDARY CANOE-MAKING 


2 9 


V 



LEGENDARY CANOE-MAKING 

»|OME of the Hawaiian trees have beauti¬ 
fully grained wood, and at the present 
time are very valuable for furniture and 
interior decoration. The koa* is probably the 
best of the trees of this class. It is known as 
the Hawaiian mahogany. The grain is very fine 
and curly and wavy, and is capable of a very high 
polish. The koa still grows luxuriantly on the 
steep sides and along the ridges of the high moun¬ 
tains of all the islands of the Hawaiian group. It 
has great powers of endurance. It is not easily 
worn by the pebbles and sand of the beach, nor 
is it readily split or broken by the tempestuous 
waves of the ocean, therefore from time immemo¬ 
rial the koa has been the tree for the canoe and 
surf-board of the Hawaiians. Long and large 
have been the canoes hewn from the massive 
tree trunks by the aid of the koi-pohaku, the 
cutting stone, or adze, of ancient Hawaii. Some¬ 
times these canoes were given miraculous powers 
of motion so that they swept through the seas 
more rapidly than the swiftest shark. Often 
the god of the winds, who had special care 


Acacia koa. 




30 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


over some one of the high chiefs, would carry him 
from island to island in a canoe which never 
rested when calms prevailed or stopped when 
fierce waves wrenched, but bore the chief swiftly 
and unfailingly to the desired haven. 

There is a delightful little story about a chief 
who visited the most northerly island, Kauai. 
He found the natives of that island feasting and 
revelling in all the abandon of savage life. Sports 
and games innumerable were enjoyed. Thus 
day and night passed until, as the morning of a 
new day dawned, an unwonted stir along the 
beach made manifest some event of very great 
importance. The new chief apparently cared 
but little for all the excitement. The king of 
the island had sent one of his royal ornaments 
to a small island some miles distant from the 
Kauai shores. He was blessed with a daughter 
so beautiful that all the available chiefs desired 
her for wife. The father, hoping to avoid the 
complications which threatened to involve his 
household with the households of the jealous 
suitors, announced that he would give his 
daughter to the man who secured the ornament 
from the far-away island. It was to be a canoe 
race with a wife for the prize. 

The young chiefs waited for the hour appointed. 
Their well-polished koa canoes lined the beach. 
The stranger chief made no preparation. Quietly 


LEGENDARY CANOE-MAKING 


31 


he enjoyed the gibes and taunts hurled from one 
to another by the young chiefs. Laughingly 
he requested permission to join in the contest, 
receiving as the reward for his request a look 
of approbation from the handsome chiefess. 

The word was given. The well-manned canoes 
were pushed from the shore and forced out through 
the inrolling surf. In the rush some of the boats 
were interlocked with others, some filled with 
water, while others safely broke away from the 
rest and passed out of sight toward the coveted 
island. Still the stranger seemed to be in no 
haste to win the prize. The face of the chiefess 
grew dark with disappointment. 

At last the stranger launched his finely polished 
canoe and called one of his followers to sail with 
him. It seemed to be utterly impossible for him 
to even dream of securing the prize, but the 
canoe began to move as if it had the wings of a 
swift bird or the fins of fleetest fish. He had 
taken for his companion in his magic canoe one 
of the gods controlling the ocean winds. He was 
first to reach the island. Then he came swiftly 
back for his bride. He made his home among 
his new friends. 

The Hawaiians had many interesting cere¬ 
monies in connection with the process of secur¬ 
ing the tree and fashioning it into a canoe. 

David Malo, a Hawaiian writer of about the 


32 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


year 1840, says, “The building of a canoe was a 
religious matter.” When a man found a fine koa- 
tree he went to the priest whose province was 
canoe-making and said, “I have found a koa-tree, 
a fine large tree.” On receiving this information 
the priest went at night to sleep before his shrine. 
If in his sleep he had a vision of some one 
standing naked before him, he knew that the 
koa-tree was rotten, and would not go up into 
the woods to cut that tree. If another tree was 
found and he dreamed of a handsome well-dressed 
man or woman standing before him, when he 
awoke he felt sure that the tree would make a 
good canoe. Preparations were made accordingly 
to go into the mountains and hew the koa into 
a canoe. They took with them as offerings a 
pig, coconuts, red fish, and awa. Having come 
to the place they rested for the night, sacrificing 
these things to the gods. 

Sometimes, when a royal canoe was to be 
prepared, it seems as if human beings were also 
brought and slain at the root of the tree. There is 
no record of cannibalism connected with these 
sacrifices, and yet when the pig and fish had 
been offered before the tree, usually a hole was 
dug close to the tree and an oven prepared in 
which the meat and vegetables were cooked for 
the morning feast of the canoe-makers. The tree 
was carefully examined and the signs and por- 


LEGENDARY CANOE-MAKING 


33 


tents noted. The song of a little bird would 
frequently cause an entire change in the enter¬ 
prise. 

When the time came to cut down the tree 
the priest would take his stone axe and offer 
prayer to the male and female deities who were 
supposed to be the special patrons of canoe¬ 
building, showing them the axe, and saying: 
“Listen now to the axe. This is the axe which 
is to cut down the tree for the canoe.” 

David Malo says: “When the tree began to 
crack, ready to fall, they lowered their voices 
and allowed no one to make a disturbance. 
When the tree had fallen, the head priest mounted 
the trunk and called out, ‘Smite with the axe, 
and hollow the canoe.’ This was repeated again 
and again as he walked along the fallen tree, 
marking the full length of the desired canoe.” 

Dr. Emerson gives the following as one of the 
prayers sometimes used by the priest when pass¬ 
ing along the trunk of the tree: 

“ Grant a canoe which shall be swift as a fish 
To sail in stormy seas 
When the storm tosses on all sides.” 

After the canoe had been roughly shaped, the 
ends pointed, the bottom rounded, and perhaps 
a portion of the inside of the log removed, the 
people fastened lines to the canoe to haul it down 
to the beach. When they were ready for the 


34 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


work the priest again prayed: “Oh, canoe gods, 
look you after this canoe. Guard it from stem tc 
stern, until it is placed in the canoe-house.” 

Then the canoe was hauled by the people 
in front, or held back by those who were in the 
rear, until it had passed all the hard and steep 
places along the mountain-side and been put in 
place for the finishing touches. When completed, 
pig and fish and fruits were again offered to the 
gods. Sometimes human beings were again a 
part of the sacrifice. 

Prayers and incantations were part of the 
ceremony. There was to be no disturbance oi 
noise, or else it would be dangerous for its owner 
to go out in his new canoe. If all the people 
except the priest had been quiet, the canoe was 
pronounced safe. 

It is said that the ceremony of lashing the 
outrigger to the canoe was of very great solemnity, 
probably because the ability to pass through the 
high surf waves depended so much upon the out¬ 
rigger as a balance which kept the canoe from 
being overturned. 

The story of Laka and the fairies is told tc 
illustrate the difficulties surrounding canoe¬ 
making. Laka desired to make a fine canoe, and 
sought through the forests for the best tree 
available. Taking his stone axe he toiled all day 
until the tree was felled. Then he went home 


THE GNARLED KOA 






















«• * 








































































































































LEGENDARY CANOE-MAKING 


35 


to rest. On the morrow he could not find the 
log. The trees of the forest had been apparently 
undisturbed. Again he cut a tree, and once 
more could not find the log. At last he cut a 
tree and watched in the night. Then he saw 
in the night shadows a host of the little people 
who toil with miraculous powers to support them. 
They raised the tree and set it in its place and 
restored it to its wonted appearance among 
its fellows. But Laka caught the king of the 
gnomes and from him learned how to gain the 
aid rather than the opposition of the little people. 
By their help his canoe was taken to the shore 
and fashioned into beautiful shape for wonderful 
and successful voyages. 








36 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


VI 

LAU-KA-IEIE 

“Waipio Valley, the beautiful: 

Precipices around it, 

The sea on one side; 

The precipices are hard to climb; 

Not to be climbed 
Are the sea precipices.” 

—Hawaiian Chant. 

AKEA (the white one) and Kaholo (the 
runner) were the children of the Valley. 
Their parents were the precipices which 
were sheer to the sea, and could only be passed 
by boats. They married, and Kaholo conceived. 
The husband said, “If a boy is born, I will name 
it; if a girl, you give the name.” 

He went up to see his sister Pokahi, and asked 
her to go swiftly to see his wife. Pokahi’s husband 
was Kaukini, a bird-catcher. He went out 
into the forest for some birds. Soon he came 
back and prepared them for cooking. Hot stones 
were put inside the birds and the birds were 
packed in calabashes, carefully covered over 
with wet leaves, which made steam inside so 
the birds were well cooked. Then they were 
brought to Kaholo for a feast. 

On their way they went down to Waipio Valley, 










LA U-KA-IEIE 


37 


coming to the foot of the precipice. Pokahi 
wanted some sea-moss and some shell-fish, so 
she told the two men to go on while she secured 
these things to take to Kaholo. She gathered 
the soft lipoa * moss and went up to the water¬ 
fall, to Ulu (Kaholo’s home). The baby was 
born, wrapped in the moss and thrown into 
the sea, making a shapeless bundle, but a kupua 
(sorcerer) saw that a child was there. The child 
was taken and washed clean in the soft lipoa, and 
cared for. All around were the signs of the birth 
of a chief. 

They named him Hiilawe, and from him the 
Waipio waterfall has its name, according to the 
saying, “Falling into mist is the water of Hii¬ 
lawe.” 

Pokahi took up her package in which she had 
brought the moss and shell-fish, but the moss 
was gone. Hina-ulu-ohia (Hina-the-growing- 
ohia-tree) was the sorcerer who took the child 
in the lipoa moss. She was the aumakua, or 
ancestor goddess, of the boat-builders. 

Pokahi dreamed that a beautiful woman ap¬ 
peared, her body covered with the leaves of 
ohia f-trees. “I know that you have not had any 
child. I will now give you one. Awake, and 
go to the Waipio River; watch thirty days, then 
you will find a girl wrapped in soft moss. This 

t Metrosideros rugosa. 


* Haliseris plagiogramma. 


38 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


shall be your adopted child. I will show you how 
to care for it. Your brother and his wife must 
not know. Your husband alone may know about 
this adopted girl.” 

Pokahi and her husband went down at once to 
the mouth of the river, heard an infant cry in 
the midst of red-colored mist, and found a child 
wrapped in the fragrant moss. She wished to 
take it up, but was held back by magic powers. 
She saw an ohia-tree rising up from the water, 
—branches, leaves, and flowers,—and iiwi (birds) 
coming to pick the flowers. The red birds and 
red flowers were very beautiful. This tree was 
Hina. The birds began to sing, and quietly the 
tree sank down into the water and disappeared, 
the birds flying away to the west. 

Pokahi returned to her brother’s house, going 
down to the sea every day, where she saw the 
human form of the child growing in the shelter 
of that red mist on the surface of the sea. At 
the end of the thirty days Pokahi told her friends 
and her husband that they must go back home. 
On their way they went to the river. She told 
her husband to look at the red mist, but he 
wanted to hurry on. As they approached their 
house, cooking-odors welcomed them, and they 
found plenty of food prepared outside. They 
saw something moving inside. The trees seemed 
to be walking as if with the feet of men. Steps 


LA U-KA-IEIE 


39 


were heard, and voices were calling for the people 
of the house. 

Kaukini prepared a lamp, and Pokahi in a 
vision saw the same fine tree which she had seen 
before. There was also a *hala-tree with its 
beautiful yellow blossoms. As they looked they 
saw leaves of different kinds falling one after 
another, making in one place a soft fragrant bed. 

Then a woman and a man came with an infant. 
They were the god Ku and Hina his wife. They 
said to Pokahi and her husband, “We have 
accepted your sacrifices and have seen that you 
are childless, so now we have brought you this 
child to adopt.” Then they disappeared among 
the trees of the forest, leaving the child, Lau-ka- 
f ieie (leaf of the ieie vine). She was well cared 
for and grew up into a beautiful woman with¬ 
out fault or blemish. Her companions and ser¬ 
vants were the birds and the flowers. 

Lau-ka-pali (leaf of the precipice) was one 
of her friends. One day she made whistles of 
tit leaves, and blew them. The Leaf-of-the- 
Morning-Glory saw that the young chiefess liked 
this, so she went out and found Pupu-kani-oi 
(the singing land-shell), whose home was on the 
leaves of the forest trees. Then she found another 
Pupu-hina-hina-ula (shell-beautiful with rainbow 

* Hala, lahala, puhala,—Pandanus adoratissimus. 

t Freycinetia Arnotti. 

X Ki or lauki, Cordyline terminalis. 


40 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


colors). In the night the shells sang, and their 
voices stole their way into the love of Lau-ka-ieie, 
so she gently sang with them. 

Nohu-ua-palai (a fern), one of the old residents 
of that place, went out into the forest, and, 
hearing the voices of the girl and the shells, came 
to the house. She chanted her name, but there 
was no reply. All was silent. At last, Pua-ohelo 
(the blossom of the ohelo*), one of the flowers 
in the house, heard, and opening the door, invited 
her to come in and eat. 

Nohu-ua-palai went in and feasted with the 
girls. Lau-ka-ieie dreamed about Kawelona 
(the setting of the sun), at Lihue, a fine young 
man, the first-born of one of the high chiefs of 
Kauai. She told her kahu (guardian) all about 
her dream and the distant island. The kahu 
asked who should go to find the man of the 
dream. All the girl friends wanted to go. 
She told them to raise their hands and the one 
who had the longest fingers could go. This was 
Pupu-kani-oi (the singing shell). The leaf family 
all sobbed as they bade farewell to the shell. 

The shell said: “Oh, my leaf-sisters Laukoa 
[leaf of the koa-tree] and Lauanau [leaf of 
the paper-mulberry tree], arise, go with me 
on my journey! Oh, my shell-sisters of the 
blue sea, come to the beach, to the sand! Come 
and show me the path I am to go! Oh, Pupu- 

* Vaccinium penduliformis. 


LA U-KA-IEIE 


41 


moka-lau [the land-shell clinging to the moki- 
hana* leaf], come and look at me, for I am one 
of your family! Call all the shells to aid me 
in my journey! Come to me!” 

Then she summoned her brother, Makani-kau, 
chief of the winds, to waft them away in their 
wind bodies. They journeyed all around the 
island of Hawaii to find some man who would 
be like the man of the dream. They found no 
one there nor on any of the other islands up to 
Oahu, where the Singing Shell fell in love with 
a chief and turned from her journey, but Makani- 
kau went on to Kauai. 

Ma-eli-eli, the dragon woman of Heeia, tried 
to persuade him to stop, but on he went. She 
ran after him. Limaloa, the dragon of Laiewai, 
also tried to catch Makani-kau, but he was too 
swift. On the way to Kauai, Makani-kau saw 
some people in a boat chased by a big shark. He 
leaped on the boat and told them he would play 
with the shark and they could stay near but 
need not fear. Then he jumped into the sea. 
The shark turned over and opened its mouth 
to seize him; he climbed on it, caught its fins, 
and forced it to flee through the water. He 
drove it to the shore and made it fast among 
the rocks. It became the great shark stone, 
Koa-mano (warrior shark), at Haena. He leaped 
from the shark to land, the boat following. 

* Pelea anisata. 


42 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


He saw the hill of “Fire-Throwing,” a place 
where burning sticks were thrown over the 
precipices, a very beautiful sight at night. He 
leaped to the top of the hill in his shadow body. 
Far up on the hill was a vast number of iiwi 
(birds). Makani-kau went to them as they were 
flying toward Lehua. They only felt the force 
of the winds, for they could not see him or his 
real body. He saw that the birds were carrying 
a fine man as he drew near. 

This was the one Lau-ka-ieie desired for her 
husband. They carried this boy on their wings 
easily and gently over the hills and sea toward 
the sunset island, Lehua. There they slowly 
flew to earth. They were the bird guardians of 
Kawelona, and when they travelled from place 
to place they were under the direction of the 
bird-sorcerer, Kukala-a-ka-manu. 

Kawelona had dreamed of a beautiful girl 
who had visited him again and again, so he was 
prepared to meet Makani-kau. He told his 
parents and adopted guardians and bird-priests 
about his dreams and the beautiful girl he wanted 
to marry. 

Makani-kau met the winds of Niihau and 
Lehua, and at last was welcomed by the birds. 
He told Kawelona his mission, who prepared to 
go to Hawaii, asking how they should go. Maka¬ 
ni-kau went to the seaside and called for his 


THE FRUIT OF THE LAHALA 











LA U-KA-IEIE 


43 


many bodies to come and give him the boat for 
the husband of their great sister Lau-ka-ieie. 
Thus he made known his mana, or spirit power, 
to Kawelona. He called on the great cloud-gods 
to send the long white cloud-boat, and it soon 
appeared. Kawelona entered the boat with fear, 
and in a few minutes lost sight of the island of 
Lehua and his bird guardians as he sailed out 
into the sea. Makani-kau dropped down by 
the side of a beautiful shell-boat, entered it, and 
stopped at Mana. There he took several girls 
and put them in a double canoe, or au-waa-olalua 
(spirit-boat). 

Meanwhile the sorcerer ruler of the birds 
agreed to find out where Kawelona was to 
satisfy the longing of his parents, whom he had 
left without showing them where he was going 
or what dangers he might meet. The sorcerer 
poured water into a calabash and threw in two 
lehua flowers, which floated on the water. Then 
he turned his eyes toward the sun and prayed: 
“Oh, great sun, to whom belongs the heavens, 
turn your eyes downward to look on the water 
in this calabash, and show us what you see 
therein! Look upon the beautiful young woman. 
She is not one from Kauai. There is no one 
more beautiful than she. Her home is under 
the glowing East, and a royal rainbow is around 
her. There are beautiful girls attending her.” 


44 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


The sorcerer saw the sun-pictures in the water, 
and interpreted to the friends the journey of Ka- 
welona, telling them it was a long, long way, and 
they must wait patiently many days for any 
word. In the signs he saw the boy in the 
cloud-boat, Makani-kau in his shell-boat, and 
the three girls in the spirit-boat. 

The girls were carried to Oahu, and there 
found the shell-girl, Pupu-kani-oi, left by Ma¬ 
kani-kau on his way to Lehua. They took her 
with her husband and his sisters in the spirit- 
boat. There were nine in the company of 
travellers to Hawaii: Kawelona in his cloud- 
boat; two girls from Kauai; Kaiahe, a girl from 
Oahu; three from Molokai, one from Maui; and 
a girl called Lihau. Makani-kau himself was 
the leader; he had taken the girls away. On 
this journey he turned their boats to Kahoo- 
lawe to visit Ka-moho-alii, the ruler of the sharks. 
There Makani-kau appeared in his finest human 
body, and they all landed. Makani-kau took 
Kawelona from his cloud-boat, went inland, and 
placed him in the midst of the company, telling 
them he was the husband for Lau-ka-ieie. They 
were all made welcome by the ruler of the sharks. 

Ka-moho-alii called his sharks to bring food 
from all the islands over which they were placed 
as guardians; so they quickly brought prepared 
food, fish, flowers, leis, and gifts of all kinds. 


LA U-KA-IEIE 


45 


The company feasted and rested. Then Ka- 
moho-alii called his sharks to guard the travellers 
on their journey. Makani-kau went in his shell- 
boat, Kawelona in his cloud-boat, and they 
were all carried over the sea until they landed 
under the mountains of Hawaii. 

Makani-kau, in his wind body, carried the boats 
swiftly on their journey to Waipio. Lau-ka-ieie 
heard her brother’s voice calling her from the 
sea. Hina answered. Makani-kau and Ka¬ 
welona went up to Waimea to cross over to Lau- 
ka-ieie’s house, but were taken by Hina to the 
top of Mauna Kea. Poliahu and Lilinoe saw 
the two fine young men and called to them, but 
Makani-kau passed by, without a word, to his 
own wonderful home in the caves of the moun¬ 
tains resting in the heart of mists and fogs, and 
placed all his travellers there. Makani-kau went 
down to the sea and called the sharks of Ka- 
moho-alii. They appeared in their human bodies 
in the valley of Waipio, leaving their shark bodies 
resting quietly in the sea. They feasted and 
danced near the ancient temple of Kahuku-welo- 
welo, which was the place where the wonderful 
shell, Kiha-pu, was kept. 

Makani-kau put seven shells on the top of the 
precipice and they blew until sweet sounds floated 
over all the land. Thus was the marriage of 
Lau-ka-ieie and Kawelona celebrated. 


46 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


All the shark people rested, soothed by the 
music. After the wedding they bade farewell 
and returned to Kahoolawe, going around the 
southern side of the island, for it was counted 
bad luck to turn back. They must go straight 
ahead all the way home. Makani-kau went to 
his sister’s house, and met the girls and Lau-ka- 
ieie. He told her that his house was full of 
strangers, as the people of the different kupua 
bodies had assembled to celebrate the wedding. 
These were the kupua people of the Hawaiian 
Islands. The eepa people were more like fairies 
and gnomes, and were usually somewhat de¬ 
formed. The kupuas may be classified as follows: 

Ka-poe-kino-lau (the people who had leaf bodies). 

“ “ “ -pua (the people who had flower bodies). 

“ “ “ -manu (the people who had bird bodies). 

“ “ “ -laau (trees of all kinds, ferns, vines, etc.). 

“ “ “ -pupu (all shells). 

“ “ “ -ao (all clouds). 

“ “ “ -makani (all winds). 

Ka-poe-kina-ia (all fish). 

“ “ “ -mano (all sharks). 

“ “ “ -limu (all sea-mosses). 

“ “ “ -pokaku (all peculiar stones). 

“ “ “ -hiwa-hiwa (all dangerous places of the 

pali). 

After the marriage, Pupu-kani-oi (the singing 
shell) and her husband entered the shell-boat, 
and started back to Molokai. On their way they 


LAU-KA-IEIE 


47 


heard sweet bird voices. Makani-kau had a 
feather house covered with rainbow colors. 
Later he went to Kauai, and brought back the 
adopted parents of Kawelona to dwell on Hawaii, 
where Lau-ka-ieie lived happily with her husband. 

Hiilawe became very ill, and called his brother 
Makani-kau and his sister Lau-ka-ieie to come 
near and listen. He told them that he was 
going to die, and they must bury him where he 
could always see the eyes of the people, and then 
he would change his body into a wonderful new 
body. 

The beautiful girl took his malo and leis and 
placed them along the sides of the valley, where 
they became trees and clinging vines, and Hina 
made him live again; so Hiilawe became an 
aumakua of the waterfalls. Makani-kau took 
the body in his hands and carried it in the thunder 
and lightning, burying it on the brow of the high¬ 
est precipice of the valley. Then his body was 
changed into a stone, which has been lying there 
for centuries; but his ghost was made by Hina 
into a kupua, so that he could always appear as 
the wonderful misty falls of Waipio, looking into 
the eyes of his people. 

After many years had passed Hina assumed 
permanently the shape of the beautiful ohia-tree, 
making her home in the forest around the vol¬ 
canoes of Hawaii. She still had magic power, 


48 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


and was worshipped under the name Hina-ula- 
ohia. Makani-kau watched over Lau-ka-ieie, 
and when the time came for her to lay aside 
her human body she came to him as a slender, 
graceful woman, covered with leaves, her eyes 
blazing like fire. Makani-kau said: “You are 
a vine; you cannot stand alone. I will carry you 
into the forest and place you by the side of Hina. 
You are the ieie vine. Climb trees! Twine 
your long leaves around them! Let your blazing 
red flowers shine between the leaves like eyes of 
fire! Give your beauty to all the ohia-trees of 
the forest!” 

Carried hither and thither by Makani-kau 
(great wind), and dropped by the side of splendid 
tall trees, the ieie vine has for centuries been 
one of the most graceful tree ornaments in all 
the forest life of the Hawaiian Islands. 

Makani-kau in his spirit form blew the golden 
clouds of the islands into the light of the sun, 
so that the Rainbow Maiden, Anuenue, might 
lend her garments to all her friends of the 
ancient days. 



KAUHUHU, THE SHARK-GOD OF MOLOKAI 49 


VII 

KAUHUHU, THE SHARK-GOD OF 
MOLOKAI 

HE story of the shark-god Kauhuhu has 
been told under the legend of “ Aikanaka 
(Man-eater)/’ which was the ancient 
name of the little harbor Pukoo, which lies at the 
entrance to one of the beautiful valleys of the 
island of Molokai. The better way is to take the 
legend as revealing the great man-eater in one of 
his most kindly aspects. The shark-god appears 
as the friend of a priest who is seeking revenge for 
the destruction of his children. Kamalo was the 
name of the priest. His heiau, or temple, was at 
Kaluaaha, a village which faced the channel 
between the islands of Molokai and Maui. Across 
the channel the rugged red-brown slopes of the 
mountain Eeke were lost in the masses of clouds 
which continually hung around its sharp peaks. 
The two boys of the priest delighted in the glori¬ 
ous revelations of sunrise and sunset tossed in 
shattered fragments of cloud color, and rejoiced 
in the reflected tints which danced to them over 
the swift channel-currents. It is no wonder that 
the courage of sky and sea entered into the hearts 








LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


5 ° 

of the boys, and that many deeds of daring were 
done by them. They were taught many of the 
secrets of the temple by their father, but were 
warned that certain things were sacred to the 
gods and must not be touched. The high chief, 
or alii, of that part of the island had a temple a 
short distance from Kaluaaha, in the valley of 
the harbor which was called Aikanaka. The 
name of this chief was Kupa. The chiefs always 
had a house built within the temple walls as 
their own residence, to which they could retire 
at certain seasons of the year. Kupa had two 
remarkable drums which he kept in his house at 
the heiau. His skill in beating his drums was so 
great that they could reveal his thoughts to the 
waiting priests. 

One day Kupa sailed far away over the sea 
to his favorite fishing-grounds. Meanwhile the 
boys were tempted to go to Kupa’s heiau and try 
the wonderful drums. The valley of the little 
harbor Aikanaka bore the musical name Mapu- 
lehu. Along the beach and over the ridge has¬ 
tened the two sons of Kamalo. Quickly they 
entered the heiau, found the high chief’s house, 
took out his drums and began to beat upon them. 
Some of the people heard the familiar tones of 
the drums. They dared not enter the sacred 
doors of the heiau, but watched until the boys 
became weary of their sport and returned home. 



KUKUI-TREES, IAO VALLEY, MT. EEKE 






















KAUHUHU , THE SHARK-GOD OF MOLOKAI 51 


When Kupa returned they told him how the boys 
had beaten upon his sacred drums. Kupa was 
very angry, and ordered his mu, or temple sacri¬ 
fice seekers, to kill the boys and bring their bodies 
to the heiau to be placed on the altar. When the 
priest Kamalo heard of the death of his sons, 
in bitterness of heart he sought revenge. His 
own power was not great enough to cope with 
his high chief; therefore he sought the aid of 
the seers and prophets of highest repute through¬ 
out Molokai. But they feared Kupa the chief, 
and could not aid him, and therefore sent him on 
to another kaula, or prophet, or sent him back to 
consult some one the other side of his home. All 
this time he carried with him fitting presents and 
sacrifices, by which he hoped to gain the assist¬ 
ance of the gods through their priests. At last 
he came to the steep precipice which overlooks 
Kalaupapa and Kalawao, the present home of the 
lepers. At the foot of this precipice was a heiau, 
in which the great shark-god was worshipped. 
Down the sides of the precipice he climbed and 
at last found the priest of the shark-god. The 
priest refused to give assistance, but directed him 
to go to a great cave in the bold cliffs south of 
Kalawao. The name of the cave was Anao- 
puhi, the cave of the eel. Here dwelt the great 
shark-god Kauhuhu and his guardians or watch¬ 
ers, Waka and Mo-o, the great dragons or reptiles 


52 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


of Polynesian legends. These dragons were 
mighty warriors in the defence of the shark-god, 
and were his kahus, or caretakers, while he slept, 
or when his cave needed watching during his 
absence. 

Kamalo, tired and discouraged, plodded along 
through the rough lava fragments piled around 
the entrance to the cave. He bore across his 
shoulders a black pig, which he had carried many 
miles as an offering to whatever power he could 
find to aid him. As he came near to the cave 
the watchmen saw him and said:— 

“E, here comes a man, food for the great 
[shark] Mano. Fish for Kauhuhu.” But Ka¬ 
malo came nearer and for some reason aroused 
sympathy in the dragons. “E hele! E hele!” 
they cried to him. “Away, away! It is death 
to you. Here’s the tabu place.” “Death it 
may be—life it may be. Give me revenge for 
my sons—and I have no care for myself.” Then 
the watchmen asked about his trouble and he 
told them how the chief Kupa had slain his sons 
as a punishment for beating the drums. Then 
he narrated the story of his wanderings all over 
Molokai, seeking for some power strong enough 
to overcome Kupa. At last he had come to the 
shark-god—as the final possibility of aid. If 
Kauhuhu failed him, he was ready to die; indeed 
he had no wish to live. The mo-o assured him of 


KAUHUHU, THE SHARK-GOD OF MOLOKAI 53 


their kindly feelings, and told him that it was a 
very good thing that Kauhuhu was away fishing, 
for if he had been home there would have been 
no way for him to go before the god without 
suffering immediate death. There would have 
been not even an instant for explanations. Yet 
they ran a very great risk in aiding him, for they 
must conceal him until the way was opened by 
the favors of the great gods. If he should be 
discovered and eaten before gaining the aid of 
the shark-god, they, too, must die with him. 
They decided that they would hide him in the 
rubbish pile of taro peelings which had been 
thrown on one side when they had pounded taro. 
Here he must lie in perfect silence until the way 
was made plain for him to act. They told him 
to watch for the coming of eight great surf waves 
rolling in from the sea, and then wait in his 
place of concealment for some opportunity to 
speak to the god because he would come in the 
last great wave. Soon the surf began to roll in 
and break against the cliffs. 

Higher and higher rose the waves until the 
eighth reared far above the waters and met 
the winds from the shore which whipped the 
curling crest into a shower of spray. It raced 
along the water and beat far up into the cave, 
breaking into foam, out of which the shark-god 
emerged. At once he took his human form and 


54 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


walked around the cave. As he passed the rub¬ 
bish heap he cried out: “A man is here. I smell 
him.” The dragons earnestly denied that any 
one was there, but the shark-god said, “ There is 
surely a man in this cave. If I find him, dead men 
you are. If I find him not, you shall live.” 
Then Kauhuhu looked along the walls of the cave 
and into all the hiding-places, but could not find 
him. He called with a loud voice, but only the 
echoes answered, like the voices of ghosts. After 
a thorough search he was turning away to attend 
to other matters when Kamalo’s pig squealed. 
Then the giant shark-god leaped to the pile of 
taro leavings and thrust them apart. There lay 
Kamalo and the black pig which had been brought 
for sacrifice. 

“Oh, the anger of the god! 

Oh, the blazing eyes!” 

Kauhuhu instantly caught Kamalo and lifted 
him from the rubbish up toward his great mouth. 
Now the head and shoulders are in Kauhuhu’s 
mouth. So quickly has this been done that 
Kamalo has had no time to think. Kamalo 
speaks quickly as the teeth are coming down 
upon him. “E Kauhuhu, listen to me. Hear 
my prayer. Then perhaps eat me.” The shark- 
god is astonished and does not bite. He takes 
Kamalo from his mouth and says: “Well for you 
that you spoke quickly. Perhaps you have a 


KAUHUHU, THE SHARK-GOD OF MOLOKAI 55 

good thought. Speak.” Then Kamalo told 
about his sons and their death at the hands of 
the executioners of the great chief, and that no 
one dared avenge him, but that all the prophets 
of the different gods had sent him from one place 
to another but could give him no aid. Sure now 
was he that Kauhuhu alone could give him aid. 
Pity came to the shark-god as it had come to his 
dragon watchers when they saw the sad condi¬ 
tion of Kamalo. All this time Kamalo had held 
the hog which he had carried with him for sacrifice. 
This he now offered to the shark-god. Kauhuhu, 
pleased and compassionate, accepted the offering, 
and said: “E Kamalo. If you had come for any 
other purpose I would eat you, but your cause is 
sacred. I will stand as your kahu, your guardian, 
and sorely punish the high chief Kupa.” 

Then he told Kamalo to go to the heiau of the 
priest who told him to see the shark-god, take this 
priest on his shoulders, carry him over the steep 
precipices to his own heiau at Kaluaaha, and 
there live with him as a fellow-priest. They were 
to build a tabu fence around the heiau and put 
up the sacred tabu staffs of white tapa cloth. 
They must collect black pigs by the four hundred, 
red fish by the four hundred, and white chickens 
by the four hundred. Then they were to wait 
patiently for the coming of Kauhuhu. It was to 
be a strange coming. On the island Lanai, far 


56 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


to the west of the Maui channel, they should see 
a small cloud, white as snow, increasing until it 
covered the little island. Then that cloud would 
cross the channel against the wind and climb the 
mountains of Molokai until it rested on the highest 
peaks over the valley where Kupa had his temple. 
“At that time,” said Kauhuhu, “a great rainbow 
will span the valley. I shall be in the care of 
that rainbow, and you may clearly understand 
that I am there and will speedily punish the man 
who has injured you. Remember that because 
you came to me for this sacred cause, therefore I 
have spared you, the only man who has ever 
stood in the presence of the shark-god and es¬ 
caped alive.” Swiftly did Kamalo go up and 
down precipices and along the rough hard ways 
to the heiau of the priest of the shark-god. Gladly 
did he carry him up from Kalaupapa to the moun¬ 
tain-ridge above. Quickly did he carry him to his 
home and there provide for him while he gathered 
together the black pigs, the red fish, and the white 
chickens within the sacred enclosure he had built. 
Here he brought his family, those who had the 
nearest and strongest claims upon him. When 
his work was done, his eyes burned with watching 
the clouds of the little western island Lanai. 
Ah, the days passed by so slowly! The weeks 
and the months came, so the legends say, and 
still Kamalo waited in patience. At last one day 


KAUHUHU, THE SHARK-GOD OF MOLOKAI 57 


a white cloud appeared. It was unlike all the 
other white clouds he had anxiously watched dur¬ 
ing the dreary months. Over the channel it came. 
It spread over the hillsides and climbed the 
mountains and rested at the head of the valley 
belonging to Kupa. Then the watchers saw the 
glorious rainbow and knew that Kauhuhu had 
come according to his word. 

The storm arose at the head of the valley. The 
winds struggled into a furious gale. The clouds 
gathered in heavy black masses, dark as mid¬ 
night, and were pierced through with terrific 
flashes of lightning. The rain fell in floods, 
sweeping the hillside down into the valley, and 
rolling all that was below onward in a resistless 
mass toward the ocean. Down came the torrent 
upon the heiau belonging to Kupa, tearing its 
walls into fragments and washing Kupa and his 
people into the harbor at the mouth of the valley. 
Here the shark-god had gathered his people. 
Sharks filled the bay and feasted upon Kupa and 
his followers until the waters ran red and all were 
destroyed. Hence came the legendary name for 
that little harbor—Aikanaka, the place for man- 
eaters. 

It is said in the legends that “when great clouds 
gather on the mountains and a rainbow spans 
the valley, look out for furious storms of wind and 
rain which come suddenly, sweeping down the 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


58 

valley.” It also said in the legends that this 
strange storm which came in such awful power 
upon Kupa spread out over the adjoining low¬ 
lands, carrying great destruction everywhere, 
but it paused at the tabu staff of Kamalo, and 
rushed on either side of the sacred fence, not dar¬ 
ing to touch any one who dwelt therein. There¬ 
fore Kamalo and his people were spared. The 
legend has been called “ Aikanaka ” because of the 
feast of the sharks on the human flesh swept down 
into that harbor by the storm, but it seems more 
fitting to name the story after the shark-god 
Kauhuhu, who sent mighty storms and wrought 
great destruction. 





THE SHARK-MAN OF WAIPIO VALLEY 59 


VIII 


THE SHARK-MAN OF WAIPIO VALLEY 
gSHHIS is a story of Waipio Valley, the most 



beautiful of all the valleys of the Hawai- 
S ian Islands, and one of the most se¬ 
cluded. It is now, as it has always been, very 
difficult of access. The walls are a sheer descent 
of over a thousand feet. In ancient times a nar¬ 
row path slanted along the face of the bluffs 
wherever foothold could be found. In these later 
days the path has been enlarged, and horse and 
rider can descend into the valley’s depths. In 
the upper end of the valley is a long silver ribbon 
water falling fifteen hundred feet from the brow 
of a precipice over which a mountain torrent 
swiftly hurls itself to the fertile valley below. 
Other falls show the convergence of several moun¬ 
tain streams to the ocean outlet offered by the 
broad plains of Waipio. 

Here in the long ago high chiefs dwelt and 
sacred temples were built. From Waipio Valley 
Moikeha and Laa-Mai-Kahiki sailed away on 
their famous voyages to distant foreign lands. In 
this valley dwelt the priest who in the times of 
Maui was said to have the winds of heaven con¬ 
cealed in his calabash. Raising the cover a little, 







6o 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


he sent gentle breezes in the direction of the open¬ 
ing. Severe storms and hurricanes were granted 
by swiftly opening the cover widely and letting 
a chaotic mass of fierce winds escape. The stories 
of magical powers of bird and fish as well as of 
the strange deeds of powerful men are almost 
innumerable. Not the least of the history-myths 
of Waipio Valley is the story of Nanaue, the shark- 
man, who was one of the cannibals of the ancient 
time. 

Ka-moho-alii was the king of all the sharks 
which frequent Hawaiian waters. When he chose 
to appear as a man he was always a chief of 
dignified, majestic appearance. One day, while 
swimming back and forth just beneath the sur¬ 
face of the waters at the mouth of the valley, he 
saw an exceedingly beautiful woman coming to 
bathe in the white surf. 

That night Ka-moho-alii came to the beach 
black with lava sand, crawled out of the water, 
and put on the form of a man. As a mighty chief 
he walked through the valley and mingled with 
the people. For days he entered into their sports 
and pastimes and partook of their bounty, al¬ 
ways looking for the beautiful woman whom he 
had seen bathing in the surf. When he found her 
he came to her and won her to be his wife. 

Kalei was the name of the woman who married 
the strange chief. When the time came for a 


THE SHARK-MAN OF WAIPIO VALLEY 61 


child to be born to them, Ka-moho-alii charged 
Kalei to keep careful watch of it and guard its 
body continually from being seen of men, and 
never allow the child to eat the flesh of any animal. 
Then he disappeared, never permitting Kalei to 
have the least suspicion that he was the king of 
the sharks. 

When the child was born, Kalei gave to him 
the name “Nanaue.” She was exceedingly sur¬ 
prised to find an opening in his back. As the 
child grew to manhood the opening developed into 
a large shark-mouth in rows of fierce sharp teeth. 

From infancy to manhood Kalei protected 
Nanaue by keeping his back covered with a fine 
kapa cloak. She was full of fear as she saw 
Nanaue plunge into the water and become a 
shark. The mouth on his back opened for any 
kind of prey. But she kept the terrible birth¬ 
mark of her son a secret hidden in the depths of 
her own heart. 

For years she prepared for him the common 
articles of food, always shielding him from the 
temptation to eat meat. But when he became 
a man his grandfather took him to the men’s 
eating-house, where his mother could no longer 
protect him. Meats of all varieties were given 
to him in great abundance, yet he always wanted 
more. His appetite was insatiable. 

While under his mother’s care he had been 


62 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


taken to the pool of water into which the great 
Waipio Falls poured its cascade of water. There 
he bathed, and, changing himself into a shark, 
caught the small fish which were playing around 
him. His mother was always watching him to 
give an alarm if any of the people came near to 
the bathing-place. 

As he became a man he avoided his companions 
in all bathing and fishing. He went away by 
himself. When the people were out in the deep 
sea bathing or fishing, suddenly a fierce shark 
would appear in their midst, biting and tearing 
their limbs and dragging them down in the deep 
water. Many of the people disappeared secretly, 
and great terror filled the homes of Waipio. 

Nanaue’s mother alone was certain that he was 
the cause of the trouble. He was becoming very 
bold in his depredations. Sometimes he would 
ask when his friends were going out in the sea; 
then he would go to a place at some distance, 
leap into the sea, and swiftly dash to intercept 
the return of his friends to the shore. Perhaps 
he would allay suspicion by appearing as a man 
and challenge to a swimming-race. Diving sud¬ 
denly, he would in an instant become a shark and 
destroy his fellow-swimmer. 

The people felt that he had some peculiar power, 
and feared him. One day, when their high chief 
had called all the men of the valley to prepare 


THE SHARK-MAN OF WAIPIO VALLEY 63 

the taro patches for their future supply of food, 
a fellow-workman standing by the side of Nanaue 
tore his kapa cape from his shoulders. The men 
behind cried out, “See the great shark-mouth!” 
All the people came running together, shouting, 
“A shark-man!” “A shark-man!” 

Nanaue became very angry and snapped his 
shark-teeth together. Then with bitter rage he 
attacked those standing near him. He seized 
one by the arm and bit it in two. He tore the 
flesh of another in ragged gashes. Biting and 
snapping from side to side he ran toward the sea. 

The crowd of natives surrounded him and 
blocked his way. He was thrown down and tied. 
The mystery had now passed from the valley. 
The people knew the cause of the troubles through 
which they had been passing, and all crowded 
around to see this wonderful thing, part man and 
part shark. 

The high chief ordered their largest oven to be 
prepared, that Nanaue might be placed therein 
and burned alive. The deep pit was quickly 
cleaned out by many willing hands, and, with 
much noise and rejoicing, fire was placed within 
and the stones for heating were put in above the 
fire. “We are ready for the shark-man,” was 
the cry. 

During the confusion Nanaue quietly made his 
plans to escape. Suddenly changing himself to 


6 4 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


a shark, the cords which bound him fell off and 
he rolled into one of the rivers which flowed from 
the falls in the upper part of the valley. 

None of the people dared to spring into the 
water for a hand-to-hand fight with the monster. 
They ran along the bank, throwing stones at 
Nanaue and bruising him. They called for spears 
that they might kill him, but he made a swift 
rush to the sea and swam away, never again to 
return to Waipio Valley. 

Apparently Nanaue could not live long in the 
ocean. The story says that he swam over to the 
island of Maui and landed near the village Hana. 
There he dwelt for some time, and married a 
chiefess. Meanwhile he secretly killed and ate 
some of the people. At last his appetite for 
human flesh made him so bold that he caught a 
beautiful young girl and carried her out into the 
deep waters. There he changed himself into a 
shark and ate her body in the sight of the people. 

The Hawaiians became very angry. They 
launched their canoes, and, throwing in all kinds 
of weapons, pushed out to kill their enemy. But 
he swam swiftly away, passing around the island 
until at last he landed on Molokai. 

Again he joined himself to the people, and again 
one by one those who went bathing and fishing 
disappeared. The priests (kahunas) of the people 
at last heard from their fellow-priests of the island 


yy'-Xr 









A TRUSTY FISHERMAN 



















THE SHARK-MAN OF WAIPIO VALLEY 65 


of Maui that there was a dangerous shark-man 
roaming through the islands. They sent warning 
to the people, urging all trusty fishermen to keep 
strict watch. At last they saw Nanaue change 
himself into a great fish. The fishermen waged 
a fierce battle against him. They entangled him 
in their nets, they pierced him with spears and 
struck him with clubs until the waters were red 
with his blood. They called on the gods of the 
sea to aid them. They uttered prayers and incan¬ 
tations. Soon Nanaue lost strength and could 
not throw off the ropes which were tied around 
him, nor could he break the nets in which he was 
entangled. 

The fishermen drew him to the shore, and the 
people dragged the great shark body up the hill 
Puu-mano. Then they cut the body into small 
pieces and burned them in a great oven. 

Thus died Nanaue, whose cannibal life was best 
explained by giving to him in mythology the 
awful appetite of an insatiable man-eating shark. 



66 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


IX 

THE STRANGE BANANA SKIN 

UKALI, according to the folk-lore of 
Hawaii, was born at Kalapana, the most 
southerly point of the largest island of 
the Hawaiian group. Kukali lived hundreds of 
years ago in the days of the migrations of Poly¬ 
nesians from one group of islands to another 
throughout the length and breadth of the great 
Pacific Ocean. He visited strange lands, now 
known under the general name, Kahiki, or Tahiti. 
Here he killed the great bird Halulu, found the 
deep bottomless pit in which was a pool of the 
fabled water of life, married the sister of Halulu, 
and returned to his old home. All this he accom¬ 
plished through the wonderful power of a banana 
skin. 

Kukali’s father was a priest, or kahuna, of 
great wisdom and ability, who taught his children 
how to exercise strange and magical powers. To 
Kukali he gave a banana with the impressive 
charge to preserve the skin whenever he ate the 
fruit, and be careful that it was always under 
his control. He taught Kukali the wisdom of 
the makers of canoes and also how to select the 
fine-grained lava for stone knives and hatchets, 








THE STRANGE BANANA SKIN 67 


and fashion the blade to the best shape. He in¬ 
structed the young man in the prayers and in¬ 
cantations of greatest efficacy and showed him 
charms which would be more powerful than any 
charms his enemies might use in attempting to 
destroy him, and taught him those omens which 
were too powerful to be overcome. Thus Kukali 
became a wizard, having great confidence in his 
ability to meet the craft of the wise men of distant 
islands. 

Kukali went inland through the forests and up 
the mountains, carrying no food save the banana 
which his father had given him. Hunger came, 
and he carefully stripped back the skin and ate 
the banana, folding the skin once more together. 
In a little while the skin was filled with fruit. 
Again and again he ate, and as his hunger was 
satisfied the fruit always again filled the skin, 
which he was careful never to throw away or lose. 

The fever of sea-roving was in the blood of the 
Hawaiian people in those days, and Kukali’s 
heart burned within him with the desire to visit 
the far-away lands about which other men told 
marvelous tales and from which came strangers 
like to the Hawaiians in many ways. 

After a while he went to the forests and selected 
trees approved by the omens, and with many 
prayers fashioned a great canoe in which to em¬ 
bark upon his journey. The story is not told 


68 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


of the days passed on the great stretches of water 
as he sailed on and on, guided by the sun in the 
day and the stars in the night, until he came to 
the strange lands about which he had dreamed 
for years. 

His canoe was drawn up on the shore and he 
lay down for rest. Before falling asleep he se¬ 
creted his magic banana in his malo, or loin¬ 
cloth, and then gave himself to deep slumber. 
His rest was troubled with strange dreams, but 
his weariness was great and his eyes heavy, and 
he could not arouse himself to meet the dangers 
which were swiftly surrounding him. 

A great bird which lived on human flesh was 
the god of the land to which he had come. The 
name of the bird was Halulu. Each feather of 
its wings was provided with talons and seemed 
to be endowed with human powers. Nothing 
like this bird was ever known or seen in the beau¬ 
tiful Hawaiian Islands. But here in the myste¬ 
rious foreign land it had its deep valley, walled 
in like the valley of the Arabian Nights, over 
which the great bird hovered looking into the 
depths for food. A strong wind always attended 
the coming of Halulu when he sought the valley 
for his victims. 

Kukali was lifted on the wings of the bird-god 
and carried to this hole and quietly laid on the 
ground to finish his hour of deep sleep. 


THE STRANGE BANANA SKIN 69 

When Kukali awoke he found himself in the 
shut-in valley with many companions who had 
been captured by the great bird and placed in this 
prison hole. They had been without food and 
were very weak. Now and then one of the num¬ 
ber would lie down to die. Halulu, the bird-god, 
would perch on a tree which grew on the edge of 
the precipice and let down its wing to sweep 
across the floor of the valley and pick up the 
victims lying on the ground. Those who were 
strong could escape the feathers as they brushed 
over the bottom and hide in the crevices in 
the walls, but day by day the weakest of the 
prisoners were lifted out and prepared for Halulu’s 
feast. 

Kukali pitied the helpless state of his fellow- 
prisoners and prepared his best incantations and 
prayers to help him overcome the great bird. 
He took his wonderful banana and fed all the 
people until they were very strong. He taught 
them how to seek stones best fitted for the manu¬ 
facture of knives and hatchets. Then for days 
they worked until they were all well armed with 
sharp stone weapons. 

While Kukali and his fellow-prisoners were 
making preparation for the final struggle, the 
bird-god had often come to his perch and put 
his wing down into the valley, brushing the 
feathers back and forth to catch his prey. 


?o 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


Frequently the search was fruitless. At last he 
became very impatient, and sent his strongest 
feathers along the precipitous walls, seeking for 
victims. 

Kukali and his companions then ran out from 
their hiding-places and fought the strong feathers, 
cutting them off and chopping them into small 
pieces. 

Halulu cried out with pain and anger, and sent 
feather after feather into the prison. Soon one 
wing was entirely destroyed. Then the other 
wing was broken to pieces and the bird-god in 
his insane wrath put down a strong leg armed 
with great talons. Kukali uttered mighty invo¬ 
cations and prepared sacred charms for the pro¬ 
tection of his friends. 

After a fierce battle they cut off the leg and 
destroyed the talons. Then came the struggle 
with the remaining leg and claws, but Kukali’s 
friends had become very bold. They fearlessly 
gathered around this enemy, hacking and pulling 
until the bird-god, screaming with pain, fell into 
the pit among the prisoners, who quickly cut the 
body into fragments. 

The prisoners made steps in the walls, and by 
the aid of vines climbed out of their prison. 
When they had fully escaped, they gathered great 
piles of branches and trunks of trees and threw 
them into the prison until the body of the bird- 


THE STRANGE BANANA SKIN 


71 


god was covered. Fire was thrown down and 
Halulu was burned to ashes. Thus Kukali taught 
by his charms that Halulu could be completely 
destroyed. 

But two of the breast feathers of the burning 
Halulu flew away to his sister, who lived in a great 
hole which had no bottom. The name of this 
sister was Namakaeha. She belonged to the 
family of Pele, the goddess of volcanic fires, who 
had journeyed to Hawaii and taken up her home 
in the crater of the volcano Kilauea. 

Namakaeha smelled smoke on the feathers 
which came to her, and knew that her brother was 
dead. She also knew that he could have been 
conquered only by one possessing great magical 
powers. So she called to his people: “ Who is the 
great kupua [wizard] who has killed my brother? 
Oh, my people, keep careful watch.” 

Kukali was exploring all parts of the strange 
land in which he had already found marvelous 
adventures. By and by he came to the great 
pit in which Namakaeha lived. He could not 
see the bottom, so he told his companions he was 
going down to see what mysteries were concealed 
in this hole without a bottom. They made a rope 
of the hau * tree bark. Fastening one end around 
his body he ordered his friends to let him down. 
Uttering prayers and incantations he went down 


* Paritium tiliaceus. 


72 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


and down until, owing to counter incantations of 
Namakaeha’s priests, who had been watching, the 
rope broke and he fell. 

Down he went swiftly, but, remembering the 
prayer which a falling man must use to keep him 
from injury, he cried, “O Ku! guard my life!” 

In the ancient Hawaiian mythology there was 
frequent mention of “the water of life.” Some¬ 
times the sick bathed in it and were healed. 
Sometimes it was sprinkled upon the unconscious, 
bringing them back to life. Kukali’s incantation 
was of great power, for it threw him into a pool 
of the water of life and he was saved. 

One of the kahunas (priests) caring for Nama- 
kaeha was a very great wizard. He saw the 
wonderful preservation of Kukali and became his 
friend. He warned Kukali against eating any¬ 
thing that was ripe, because it would be poison, 
and even the most powerful charms could not 
save him. 

Kukali thanked him and went out among the 
people. He had carefully preserved his wonder¬ 
ful banana skin, and was able to eat apparently 
ripe fruit and yet be perfectly safe. 

The kahunas of Namakaeha tried to overcome 
him and destroy him, but he conquered them, 
killed those who were bad, and entered into 
friendship with those who were good. 

At last he came to the place where the great 


THE STRANGE BANANA SKIN 


73 


chiefess dwelt. Here he was tested in many ways. 
He accepted the fruits offered him, but always 
ate the food in his magic banana. Thus he pre¬ 
served his strength and conquered even the chief¬ 
ess and married her. After living with her for 
a time he began to long for his old home in 
Hawaii. Then he persuaded her to do as her 
relative Pele had already done, and the family, 
taking their large canoe, sailed away to Hawaii, 
their future home. 






74 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


X 


THE OLD MAN OF THE MOUNTAIN 

This is not a Hawaiian legend. It was written to 
show the superstitions of the Hawaiians, and in that re¬ 
spect it is accurate and worthy of preservation. 



|AR away in New England one of the 
rugged mountain-sides has for many 
1H years been marked with the profile of a 
grand face. A noble brow, deep-set eyes, close- 
shut lips, Roman nose, and chin standing in full 
relief against a clear sky, made a landmark re¬ 
nowned throughout the country. The story is 
told of a boy who lived in the valley from which 
the face of the Old Man of the Mountain could 
be most clearly seen. As the years passed, the 
boy grew into a man of sterling character. 
When at last death came and the casket opened 
to receive the body of an old man, universally 
revered, the friends saw the likeness to the stone 
features of the Old Man of the Mountain, and 
recognized the source of the inspiration which 
had made one life useful and honored. 

Near Honolulu, just beyond one of the great 
sugar plantations, is a ledge of lava deposited 











OLD MAN OF THE MOUNTAIN 
































r § 

■ : W 





















































THE OLD MAN OF THE MOUNTAIN 75 


centuries ago. The lava was piled up into 
mountains, now dissolved into slopes of the rich¬ 
est sugar-land in the world. And yet sometimes 
the hard lava, refusing to disintegrate, thrusts 
itself out from the hillsides in ledges of grotesque 
form. 

On one of these ancient lava ridges was the 
outline of an old man’s face, to which the Ha- 
waiians have given the name, “The Old Man of 
the Mountain.” The laborers on the sugar-plan¬ 
tations, the passengers on the railroad trains, 
and the natives who still cling to their scattered 
homes sometimes have looked with superstitious 
awe upon the face made without hands. In the 
days gone by they have called it the “Akua- 
pohaku” (the stone god). Shall we hear the 
story of Kamakau, who at some time in the 
indefinite past dwelt in the shadow of the stone 
face? 

Kamakau means “the afraid.” His name 
came to him as a child. He was a shrinking, 
sensitive, imaginative little fellow. He was 
surrounded by influences which turned his 
imagination into the paths of most unwholesome 
superstition. But beyond the beliefs of most 
of his fellows, in his own nature he was keenly 
appreciative of mysterious things. There was 
a spirit voice in every wind rustling the tops 
of the trees. Spirit faces appeared in unnum- 


76 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


bered caricatures of human outline whenever 
he lay on the grass and watched the sunlight 
sift between the leaves. Everything he looked 
upon or heard assumed some curious form 
of life. The clouds were most mysterious of all, 
for they so frequently piled up mass upon mass 
of grandeur, in such luxurious magnificence and 
such prodigal display of color, that his power 
of thought lost itself in his almost daily dream 
of some time wandering in the shadow valleys of 
the precipitous mountains of heaven. Here he 
saw also strangely symmetrical forms of man and 
bird and fish. Sometimes cloud forests outlined 
themselves against the blue sky, and then again 
at times separated by months and even years, the 
lights of the volcano-goddess, Pele, glorified her 
path as she wandered in the spirit land, flashing 
from cloud-peak to cloud-peak, while the thunder 
voices of the great gods rolled in mighty volumes 
of terrific impressiveness. Even in the night 
Kamakau felt that the innumerable stars were 
the eyes of the aumakuas (the spirits of the an¬ 
cestors). It was not strange that such a child 
should continually think that he saw spirit forms 
which were invisible to his companions. It is no 
wonder that he fancied he heard voices of the 
menehunes (fairies), which his companions could 
never understand. As he shrunk from places 
where it seemed to him the spirits dwelt, his 


THE OLD MAN OF THE MOUNTAIN 77 


companions called him “ Kamakau,” “ the afraid.” 
When he grew older he necessarily became keenly 
alive to all objects of Hawaiian superstition. He 
never could escape the overwhelming presence of 
the thousand and more gods which were supposed 
to inhabit the Hawaiian land and sea. The omens 
drawn from sacrifices, the voices from the bam¬ 
boo dwelling-places of the oracles, the chants of 
the prophets, and powers of praying to death he 
accepted with unquestioning faith. 

Two men were hunting in the forests of the 
mountains of Oahu. Tired with the long chase 
after the 00, the bird with the rare yellow feathers 
from which the feather cloaks of the highest 
chiefs were made, they laid aside spears and 
snares and lay down for a rest. “I want the 
valley of the stone god,” said one: “its fertile 
fields would make just the increase needed for my 
retainers, and the ‘moi,’ the king, would give me 
the land if Kamakau were out of the way.” 

“Are there any other members of his family, 
0 Inaina, who could resist your claim?” 

“No, my friend Kokua. He is the only impor¬ 
tant chief in the valley.” 

“Pray him to death,” was Kokua’s sententious 
advice. 

“Good; I’ll do it,” said Inaina: “he is one who 
can easily be prayed to death. ‘The Afraid’ 
will soon die.” 


78 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


“If you will give me the small fish-pond nearest 
my own coral fish-walls I will be your messenger,” 
said Kokua. 

“Ah, that also is good,” replied Inaina, after 
a moment’s thought. “I will give you the small 
pond, and you must give the small thoughts, 
the hints, to his friends that powerful priests are 
praying Kamakau to death. All this must be 
very mysterious. No name can be mentioned, 
and you and I must be Kamakau’s good friends.” 

It must be remembered that land tenure in 
ancient Hawaii was almost the same as that of 
the European feudal system. Occupancy de¬ 
pended upon the will of the high chief. He gave 
or took away at his own pleasure. The under¬ 
chiefs held the land as if it belonged to them, and 
were seldom troubled as long as the wishes of the 
high chief, or king, were carried out. Inaina felt 
secure in the use of his present property, and 
believed that he could easily find favor and obtain 
the land held by the Kamakau family if Kama¬ 
kau himself could be removed. Without much 
further conference the two hunters returned to 
their homes. Inaina at once sought his family 
priest and stated his wish to have Kamakau 
prayed to death. They decided that the first 
step should be taken that night. It was abso¬ 
lutely necessary that something which had been 
a part of the body of Kamakau should be ob- 


THE OLD MAN OF THE MOUNTAIN 79 

tained. The priest appointed his confidential 
hunter of sacrifices to undertake this task. This 
servant of the temple was usually sent out to 
find human sacrifices to be slain and offered 
before the great gods on special occasions. As 
the darkness came on he crept near the grass 
house of Kamakau and watched for an opportu¬ 
nity of seizing what he wanted. The two most 
desired things in the art of praying to death were 
either a lock of hair from the head of the victim 
or a part of the spittle, usually well guarded by 
the trusted retainers who had charge of the 
spittoon. 

It chanced to be “Awa night” for Kamakau, 
and the chief, having drunk heavily of the drug, 
had thrown himself on a mat and rolled near the 
grass walls. With great ingenuity the hunter of 
sacrifices located the chief and worked a hole 
through the thatch. Then with his sharp bone 
knife he sawed off a large lock of Kamakau’s 
hair. When this was done he was about to creep 
away, but a native came near. Instantly grunt¬ 
ing like a hog, he worked his way into the dark¬ 
ness. He saw outlined against the sky in the 
hands of the native the chief’s spittoon. In a 
moment the hunter of sacrifices saw his oppor¬ 
tunity. His past training in lying in wait and 
capturing men for sacrifice stood him in good 
stead at this time. The unsuspecting spittoon- 


8o 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


carrier was seized by the throat and quickly 
strangled. The spittoon in falling from the 
retainer’s hand had not been overturned. Exul¬ 
tant at his success, the hunter of sacrifices sped 
away in the darkness and placed his trophies in 
the hands of the priest. The next morning there 
was a great outcry in Kamakau’s village. The 
dead body was found as soon as dawn crept 
over the valley, and the hand-polished family 
calabash was completely lost. When the people 
went to Kamakau’s house with the report of 
the death of his retainer, they soon saw that the 
head of their chief had been dishonored. A great 
feeling of fear took possession of the village. 
Kamakau’s priest hurried to the village temple 
to utter prayers and incantations against the 
enemy who had committed such an outrage. 

Kokua soon heard the news and came to com¬ 
fort his neighbor. After the greeting, “Auwe! 
auwe!” (Alas! alas!) Kokua said: “This is surely 
praying to death, and the gods have already 
given you over into the hands of your enemy. 
You will die. Very soon you will die.” Soon 
Inaina and other chiefs came with their retainers. 
Among high and low the terrible statement was 
whispered: “Kamakau is being prayed to death, 
and no man knows his enemy.” Many a strong 
man has gone to a bed of continued illness, and 
some have crossed the dark valley into the land 


THE OLD MAN OF THE MOUNTAIN 81 


of death, even in these days of enlightened 
civilization, simply frightened into the illness 
or death by the strong statements of friends 
and acquaintances. Such is the make-up of 
the minds of men that they are easily affected 
by the mysterious suggestions of others. It is 
purely a matter of mind-murder. 

It is no wonder that in the days of the long ago 
Kamakau, moved by the terror of his friends 
and horrible suggestions of his two enemies, soon 
felt a great weakness conquering him. His 
natural disposition, his habit of seeing and hear¬ 
ing gods and spirits in everything around him, 
made it easy for him to yield to the belief that 
he was being prayed to death. His strength 
left him. He could take no food. A strange 
paralysis seemed to take possession of him. 
Mind and body were almost benumbed. He 
was really in the hands of unconscious mesmerists, 
who were putting him into a magnetic sleep, from 
which he was never expected to awake. It is a 
question to be answered only when all earthly 
problems have been solved. How many of the 
people prayed to death have really been dis¬ 
sected and prepared for burial while at first 
under mesmeric influences! The people gathered 
around Kamakau’sthatchedhouse. They thought 
that he would surely die before the next morning 
dawned. Inaina and Kokua were lying on the 


82 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


grass under the shade of a great candlenut-tree, 
quietly talking about the speedy success of their 
undertaking. A little girl was playing near them. 
It was Kamakau’s little Aloha. This was all the 
name so far given to her. She was “My Aloha,” 
“my dear one,” to both father and mother. She 
heard a word uttered incautiously. Inaina had 
spoken with the accent of success and his voice 
was louder than he thought. He said, “We 
have great strength if we kill Kamakau.” The 
child fled to her father. She found him in the 
half-unconscious state already described. She 
shook him. She called to him. She pulled his 
hands, and covered his face with kisses. Her 
tears poured over his hot, dry skin. Kamakau 
was aroused by the shock. He sat up, forgetting 
all the expectation of death. 

Out through the doorway he glanced toward 
the west. The sinking sun was sending its 
most glorious beams into the grand clouds, 
while just beneath, reflecting the glory, lay the 
Old Man of the Mountain. The stone face 
was magnificent in its setting. The unruffled 
brow, the never-closing eyes, the firm lips, stood 
out in bold relief against the glory which was 
over and beyond them. Kamakau caught the 
inspiration. It seemed to his vivid imagination 
as if ten thousand good spirits were gathered in 
the heavens to fight for him. He leaped to his 


THE OLD MAN OF THE MOUNTAIN 83 

feet, strength came back into the wearied 
muscles, a new will-power took possession of 
him, and he cried: “I will not die! I will not die! 
The stone god is more powerful than the priests 
who pray to death!” His will had broken 
away from its chains, and, unfettered from all 
fear, Kamakau went forth to greet the wonder¬ 
ing people and take up again the position of 
influence held among the chiefs of Oahu. The 
lesson is still needed in these beautiful ocean- 
bound islands that praying to death means either 
the use of poison or the attempt to terrify the 
victim by strong mental forces enslaving the 
will. In either case the aroused will is powerful 
in both resistance and watchfulness. 





84 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


XI 

HAWAIIAN GHOST TESTING 

VALLEY for centuries has been 
Hawaiians the royal palace of 
ws. The mountains at the head 
of the valley were gods whose children were the 
divine wind and rain from whom was born the 
beautiful rainbow-maiden who plays in and 
around the valley day and night whenever misty 
showers are touched by sunlight or moonlight. 

The natives of the valley usually give her the 
name of Kahalaopuna, or The Hala of Puna. 
Sometimes, however, they call her Kaikawahine 
Anuenue, or The Rainbow Maiden. The rain¬ 
bow, the anuenue, marks the continuation of the 
legendary life of Kahala. 

The legend of Kahala is worthy of record in it¬ 
self, but connected with the story is a very inter¬ 
esting account of an attempt to discover and 
capture ghosts according to the methods sup¬ 
posed to be effective by the Hawaiian witch 
doctors or priests of the long, long ago. 

The legends say that the rainbow-maiden had 
two lovers, one from Waikiki, and one from 
Kamoiliili, half-way between Manoa and Waikiki. 








HAWAIIAN GHOST TESTING 


85 


Both wanted the beautiful arch to rest over their 
homes, and the maiden, the descendant of the 
gods, to dwell therein. 

Kauhi, the Waikiki chief, was of the family 
of Mohoalii, the shark-god, and partook of the 
shark’s cruel nature. He became angry with 
the rainbow-maiden and killed her and buried 
the body, but her guardian god, Pueo, the owl, 
scratched away the earth and brought her to life. 
Several times this occurred, and the owl each 
time restored the buried body to the wandering 
spirit. At last the chief buried the body deep 
down under the roots of a large koa-tree. The 
owl-god scratched and pulled, but the roots of 
the tree were many and strong. His claws were 
entangled again and again. At last he concluded 
that life must be extinct and so deserted the place. 

The spirit of the murdered girl was wandering 
around hoping that it could be restored to the 
body, and not be compelled to descend to Milu, 
the Under-world of the Hawaiians. Po was some¬ 
times the Under-world, and Milu was the god 
ruling over Po. The Hawaiian ghosts did not 
go to the home of the dead as soon as they were 
separated from the body. Many times, as 
when rendered unconscious, it was believed 
that the spirit had left the body, but for some 
reason had been able to come back into it and 
enjoy life among friends once more. 


86 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


Kahala, the rainbow-maiden, was thus re¬ 
stored several times by the owl-god, but with 
this last failure it seemed to be certain that 
the body would grow cold and stiff before 
the spirit could return. The spirit hastened 
to and fro in great distress, trying to attract 
attention. 

If a wandering spirit could interest some one 
to render speedy aid, the ancient Hawaiians 
thought that a human being could place the 
spirit back in the body. Certain prayers and 
incantations were very effective in calling the 
spirit back to its earthly home. The Samoans 
had the same thought concerning the restora¬ 
tion of life to one who had become unconscious, 
and had a special prayer, which was known as 
the prayer of life, by which the spirit was per¬ 
suaded to return into its old home. The Hervey 
Islanders also had this same conception of any 
unconscious condition. They thought the spirit 
left the body but when persuaded to do so re¬ 
turned and brought the body back to life. They 
have a story of a woman who, like the rainbow- 
maiden, was restored to life several times. 

The spirit of Kahala was almost discouraged. 
The shadows of real death were encompassing her, 
and the feeling of separation from the body 
was becoming more and more permanent. At 
last she saw a noble young chief approaching. 



KIHIKIHI 










. 





















HAWAIIAN GHOST TESTING 


87 


He was Mahana, the chief of Kamoiliili. The 
spirit hovered over him and around him and 
tried to impress her anguish upon him. 

Mahana felt the call of distress, and attrib¬ 
uted it to the presence of a ghost, or aumakua, 
a ghost-god. He was conscious of an influence 
leading him toward a large koa-tree. There 
he found the earth disturbed by the owl-god. 
He tore aside the roots and discovered the 
body bruised and disfigured and yet recognized 
it as the body of the rainbow-maiden whom he 
had loved. 

In the King Kalakaua version of the story 
Mahana is represented as taking the body, which 
was still warm, to his home in Kamoiliili. 

Mahana’s elder brother was a kahuna, or witch¬ 
doctor, of great celebrity. He was called at once 
to pronounce the prayers and invocations neces¬ 
sary for influencing the spirit and the body to 
reunite. Long and earnestly the kahuna practised 
all the arts with which he was acquainted and 
yet completely failed. In his anxiety he called 
upon the spirits of two sisters who, as aumakuas, 
watched over the welfare of Mahana’s clan. 
These spirit-sisters brought the spirit of the 
rainbow-maiden to the bruised body and induced 
it to enter the feet. Then, by using the forces 
of spirit-land, while the kahuna chanted and 
used his charms, they pushed the spirit of Kahala 


88 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


slowly up the body until “the soul was once more 
restored to its beautiful tenement.” 

The spirit-sisters then aided Mahana in restor¬ 
ing the wounded body to its old vigor and 
beauty. Thus many days passed in close com¬ 
radeship between Kahala and the young chief, 
and they learned to care greatly for one another. 

But while Kauhi lived it was unsafe for it to 
be known that Kahala was alive. Mahana de¬ 
termined to provoke Kauhi to personal combat; 
therefore he sought the places which Kauhi fre¬ 
quented for sport and gambling. Bitter words 
were spoken and fierce anger aroused until at 
last, by the skilful use of Kahala’s story, Mahana 
led Kauhi to admit that he had killed the 
rainbow-maiden and buried her body. 

Mahana said that Kahala was now alive and 
visiting his sisters. 

Kauhi declared that if there was any one visit¬ 
ing Mahana’s home it must be an impostor. In 
his anger against Mahana he determined a more 
awful death than could possibly come from any 
personal conflict. He was so sure that Kahala 
was dead that he offered to be baked alive in one 
of the native imus, or ovens, if she should be pro¬ 
duced before the king and the principal chiefs 
of the district. Akaaka, the grandfather of 
Kahala, one of the mountain-gods of Manoa 
Valley, was to be one of the judges. 


HAWAIIAN GHOST TESTING 


89 


This proposition suited Mahana better than 
a conflict, in which there was a possibility of 
losing his own life. 

Kauhi now feared that some deception might 
be practised. His proposition had been so 
eagerly accepted that he became suspicious; 
therefore he consulted the sorcerers of his own 
family. They agreed that it was possible for 
some powerful kahuna to present the ghost of 
the murdered maiden and so deceive the judges. 
They decided that it was necessary to be pre¬ 
pared to test the ghosts. 

If it could be shown that ghosts were present, 
then the aid of “ spirit catchers ” from the land 
of Milu could be invoked. Spirits would seize 
these venturesome ghosts and carry them away 
to the spirit-land, where special punishments 
should be meted out to them. It was sup¬ 
posed that “spirit catchers” were continually 
sent out by Milu, king of the Under-world. 

How could these ghosts be detected? They 
would certainly appear in human form and be 
carefully safeguarded. The chief sorcerer of 
Kauhi’s family told Kauhi to make secretly a 
thorough test. This could be done by taking 
the large and delicate leaves of the ape*-plant 
and spreading them over the place where Kahala 
must walk and sit before the judges. A human 
being could not touch these leaves so carefully 

* Gunnera petaloides. 


9° 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


placed without tearing and bruising them. A 
ghost walking upon them could not make any 
impression. Untorn leaves would condemn 
Mahana to the ovens to be baked alive, and the 
spirit catchers would be called by the sorcerers 
to seize the escaped ghost and carry it back to 
spirit-land. Of course, if some other maid of the 
islands had pretended to be Kahala, that could 
be easily determined by her divine ancestor 
Akaaka. The trial was really a test of ghosts, 
for the presence of Kahala as a spirit in her former 
human likeness was all that Kauhi and his chief 
sorcerer feared. The leaves were selected with 
great care and secretly placed so that no one 
should touch them but Kahala. There was 
great interest in this strange contest for a home 
in a burning oven. The imus had been prepared: 
the holes had been dug, and the stones and wood 
necessary for the sacrifice laid close at hand. 

The king and judges were in their places. The 
multitude of retainers stood around at a respect¬ 
ful distance. Kauhi and his chief sorcerer were 
placed where they could watch closely every 
movement of the maiden who should appear 
before the judgment-seat. 

Kahala, the rainbow-maiden, with all the 
beauty of her past girlhood restored to her, 
drew near, attended by the two spirit-sisters 
who had saved and protected her. The spirits 


HAWAIIAN GHOST TESTING 


91 


knew at once the ghost test by which Kahala 
was to be tried. They knew also that she had 
nothing to fear, but they must not be discovered. 
The test applied to Kahala would only make more 
evident the proof that she was a living human 
being, but that same test would prove that they 
were ghosts, and the spirit-catchers would be 
called at once and they would be caught and 
carried away for punishment. The spirit-sisters 
could not try to escape. Any such attempt would 
arouse suspicion and they would be surely seized. 
The ghost-testing was a serious ordeal for Kahala 
and her friends. 

The spirit-sisters whispered to Kahala, telling 
her the purpose attending the use of the ape 
leaves and asking her to break as many of them 
on either side of her as she could without at¬ 
tracting undue attention. Thus she could aid 
her own cause and also protect the sister-spirits. 
Slowly and with great dignity the beautiful 
rainbow-maiden and her friends passed through 
the crowds of eager attendants to their places 
before the king. Kahala bruised and broke as 
many of the leaves as she could quietly. She 
was recognized at once as the child of the divine 
rain and wind of Manoa Valley. There was no 
question concerning her bodily presence. The 
torn leaves afforded ample and indisputable 
testimony. 


9 2 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


Kauhi, in despair, recognized the girl whom 
he had several times tried to slay. In bitter dis¬ 
appointment at the failure of his ghost-test the 
chief sorcerer, as the Kalakaua version of this 
legend says, “declared that he saw and felt 
the presence of spirits in some manner connected 
with her.” These spirits, he claimed, must be 
detected and punished. 

A second form of ghost-testing was proposed by 
Akaaka, the mountain-god. This was a method 
frequently employed throughout all the islands 
of the Hawaiian group. It was believed that 
any face reflected in a pool or calabash of water 
was a spirit face. Many times had ghosts been 
discovered in this way. The face in the water 
had been grasped by the watcher, crushed between 
his hands, and the spirit destroyed. 

The chief sorcerer eagerly ordered a calabash 
of water to be quickly brought and placed before 
him. In his anxiety to detect and seize the 
spirits who might be attending Kahala he forgot 
about himself and leaned over the calabash. His 
own spirit face was the only one reflected on the 
surface of the water. This spirit face was be¬ 
lieved to be his own true spirit escaping for the 
moment from the body and bathing in the liquid 
before him. Before he could leap back and re¬ 
store his spirit to his body Akaaka leaped for¬ 
ward, thrust his hands down into the water and 


HAWAIIAN GHOST TESTING 


93 


seized and crushed this spirit face between his 
mighty hands. Thus it was destroyed before it 
could return to its home of flesh and blood. . 

The chief sorcerer fell dead by the side of the 
calabash by means of which he had hoped to de¬ 
stroy the friends of the rainbow-maiden. 

In this trial of the ghosts the two most power¬ 
ful methods of making a test as far as known 
among the ancient Hawaiians were put in 
practice. 

Kauhi was punished for his crimes against 
Kahala. He was baked alive in the imu pre¬ 
pared on his own land at Waikiki. His lands 
and retainers were given to Kahala and Mahana. 

The story of Kahala and her connection with 
the rainbows and waterfalls of Manoa Valley 
has been told from time to time in the homes of 
the nature-loving native residents of the valley. 







94 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


XII 

HOW MILU BECAME THE KING OF 
GHOSTS 

ONO was a chief living on the western 
side of the island Hawaii. He had a 
very red skin and strange-looking eyes. 
His choice of occupation was farming. This man 
had never been sick. One time he was digging 
with the oo, a long sharp-pointed stick or spade. 
A man passed and admired him. The people 
said, “Lono has never been sick.” The man 
said, “He will be sick.” 

Lono was talking about that man and at the 
same time struck his oo down with force and 
cut his foot. He shed much blood, and fainted, 
falling to the ground. A man took a pig, went 
after the stranger, and let the pig go, which 
ran to this man. The stranger was Kamaka, 
a god of healing. He turned and went back at 
the call of the messenger, taking some popolo 
fruit and leaves in his cloak. When he came to 
the injured man he asked for salt, which he 
pounded into the fruit and leaves and placed in 
coco cloth and bound it on the wound, leaving 
it a long time. Then he went away. 













THE VALLEY AT HANALEI. KAUAI 



































































HOW MILU BECAME THE KING OF GHOSTS 95 

As he journeyed on he heard heavy breathing, 
and turning saw Lono, who said, “You have 
helped me, and so I have left my lands in the care 
of my friends, directing them what to do, and 
have hastened after you to learn how to heal 
other people.” 

The god said, “Lono, open your mouth!” 
This Lono did, and the god spat in his mouth, so 
that the saliva could be taken into every part 
of Lono’s body. Thus a part of the god became 
a part of Lono, and he became very skilful in the 
use of all healing remedies. He learned about 
the various diseases and the medicines needed 
for each. The god and Lono walked together, 
Lono receiving new lessons along the way, pass¬ 
ing through the districts of Kau, Puna, Hilo, 
and then to Hamakua. 

The god said, “It is not right for us to stay 
together. You can never accomplish anything 
by staying with me. You must go to a separate 
place and give yourself up to healing people.” 

Lono turned aside to dwell in Waimanu and 
Waipio Valleys and there began to practise 
healing, becoming very noted, while the god 
Kamaka made his home at Ku-kui-haele. 

This god did not tell the other gods of the 
medicines that he had taught Lono. One of 
the other gods, Kalae, was trying to find some 
way to kill Milu, and was always making him 


p6 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


sick. Milu, chief of Waipio, heard of the skill 
of Lono. Some had been sick even to death, 
and Lono had healed them. Therefore Milu 
sent a messenger to Lono who responded at once, 
came and slapped Milu all over the body, and 
said: “You are not ill. Obey me and you shall 
be well.” 

Then he healed him from all the sickness in¬ 
side the body caused by Kalae. But there 
was danger from outside, so he said: “You 
must build a ti-leaf house and dwell there quietly 
for some time, letting your disease rest. If a 
company should come by the house making sport, 
with a great noise, do not go out, because when 
you go they will come up and get you for your 
death. Do not open the ti leaves and look out. 
The day you do this you shall die.” 

Some time passed and the chief remained in 
the house, but one day there was the confused 
noise of many people talking and shouting around 
his house. He did not forget the command of 
Lono. Two birds were sporting in a wonderful 
way in the sky above the forest. This continued 
all day until it was dark. 

Then another long time passed and again 
Waipio was full of resounding noises. A great 
bird appeared in the sky resplendent in all kinds 
of feathers, swaying from side to side over the 
valley, from the top of one precipice across to 


HOW MILU BECAME THE KING OF GHOSTS 97 

the top of another, in grand flights passing over 
the heads of the people, who shouted until the 
valley re-echoed with the sound. 

Milu became tired of that great noise and 
could not patiently obey his physician, so he 
pushed aside some of the ti leaves of his house 
and looked out upon the bird. That was the 
time when the bird swept down upon the house, 
thrusting a claw under Milu’s arm, tearing out 
his liver. Lono saw this and ran after the bird, 
but it flew swiftly to a deep pit in the lava on 
one side of the valley and dashed inside, leaving 
blood spread on the stones. Lono came, saw the 
blood, took it and wrapped it in a piece of tapa 
cloth and returned to the place where the chief 
lay almost dead. He poured some medicine into 
the wound and pushed the tapa and blood inside. 
Milu was soon healed. 

The place where the bird hid with the liver of 
Milu is called to this day Ke-ake-o-Milu (“The 
liver of Milu”)- When this death had passed 
away he felt very well, even as before his trouble. 

Then Lono told him that another death threat¬ 
ened him and would soon appear. He must dwell 
in quietness. 

For some time Milu was living in peace and 
quiet after this trouble. Then one day the 
surf of Waipio became very high, rushing from 
far out even to the sand, and the people entered 


98 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


into the sport of surf-riding with great joy and 
loud shouts. This noise continued day by day, 
and Milu was impatient of the restraint and for¬ 
got the words of Lono. He went out to bathe 
in the surf. 

When he came to the place of the wonderful 
surf he let the first and second waves go by, 
and as the third came near he launched him¬ 
self upon it while the people along the beach 
shouted uproariously. He went out again into 
deeper water, and again came in, letting the first 
and second waves go first. As he came to the 
shore the first and second waves were hurled 
back from the shore in a great mass against the 
wave upon which he was riding. The two 
great masses of water struck and pounded Milu, 
whirling and crowding him down, while the surf¬ 
board was caught in the raging, struggling 
waters and thrown out toward the shore. Milu 
was completely lost in the deep water. 

The people cried: “Milu is dead! The chief 
is dead!” The god Kalae thought he had killed 
Milu, so he with the other poison-gods went on 
a journey to Mauna Loa. Kapo and Pua, the 
poison-gods, or gods of death, of the island Maui, 
found them as they passed, and joined the com¬ 
pany. They discovered a forest on Molokai, 
and there as kupua spirits, or ghost bodies, en¬ 
tered into the trees of that forest, so the trees 


HOW MILU BECAME THE KING OF GHOSTS gg 


became the kupua bodies. They were the me¬ 
dicinal or poison qualities in the trees. 

Lono remained in Waipio Valley, becoming 
the ancestor and teacher of all the good healing 
priests of Hawaii, but Milu became the ruler 
of the Under-world, the place where the spirits of 
the dead had their home after they were driven 
away from the land of the living. Many people 
came to him from time to time. 

He established ghostly sports like those which 
his subjects had enjoyed before death. They 
played the game kilu with polished coconut 
shells, spinning them over a smooth surface to 
strike a post set up in the centre. He taught ko- 
nane, a game commonly called “ Hawaiian check¬ 
ers,” but more like the Japanese game of “Go.” 
He permitted them to gamble, betting all the 
kinds of property found in ghost-land. They 
boxed and wrestled; they leaped from preci¬ 
pices into ghostly swimming-pools; they feasted 
and fought, sometimes attempting to slay each 
other. Thus they lived the ghost life as they 
had lived on earth. Sometimes the ruler was 
forgotten and the ancient Hawaiians called the 
Under-world by his name—Milu. The New 
Zealanders frequently gave their Under-world 
the name “ Miru.” They also supposed that 
the ghosts feasted and sported as they had done 
while living. 


100 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


XIII 

A VISIT TO THE KING OF GHOSTS 

any person lay in an unconscious 
it was supposed by the ancient 
aiians that death had taken posses¬ 
sion of the body and opened the door for the 
spirit to depart. Sometimes if the body lay like 
one asleep the spirit was supposed to return to its 
old home. One of the Hawaiian legends weaves 
their deep-rooted faith in the spirit-world into 
the expressions of one who seemed to be per¬ 
mitted to visit that ghost-land and its king. 
This legend belonged to the island of Maui and 
the region near the village Lahaina. Thus was 
the story told: 

Ka-ilio-hae (the wild dog) had been sick for 
days and at last sank into a state of unconscious¬ 
ness. The spirit of life crept out of the body 
and finally departed from the left eye into a cor¬ 
ner of the house, buzzing like an insect. Then 
he stopped and looked back over the body he 
had left. It appeared to him like a massive 
mountain. The eyes were deep caves, into which 
the ghost looked. Then the spirit became 
afraid and went outside and rested on the roof 
of the house. The people began to wail loudly 










A VISIT TO THE KING OF GHOSTS ioi 


and the ghost fled from the noise to a coconut- 
tree and perched like a bird in the branches. 
Soon he felt the impulse of the spirit-land moving 
him away from his old home. So he leaped from 
tree to tree and flew from place to place wander¬ 
ing toward Kekaa, the place from which the 
ghosts leave the island of Maui for their home 
in the permanent spirit-land—the Under-world. 

As he came near this doorway to the spirit- 
world he met the ghost of a sister who had died 
long before, and to whom was given the power 
of sometimes turning a ghost back to its body 
again. She was an aumakua-ho-ola (a spirit 
making alive). She called to Ka-ilio-hae and 
told him to come to her house and dwell for a 
time. But she warned him that when her hus¬ 
band was at home he must not yield to any invi¬ 
tation from him to enter their house, nor could 
he partake of any of the food which her husband 
might urge him to eat. The home and the food 
would be only the shadows of real things, and 
would destroy his power of becoming alive again. 

The sister said, “When my husband comes to 
eat the food of the spirits and to sleep the sleep 
of ghosts, then I will go with you and you shall 
see all the spirit-land of our island and see the 
king of ghosts.” 

The ghost-sister led Ka-ilio-hae into the place 
of whirlwinds, a hill where he heard the voices 


102 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


of many spirits planning to enjoy all the sports 
of their former life. He listened with delight and 
drew near to the multitude of happy spirits. 
Some were making ready to go down to the sea 
for the hee-nalu (surf-riding). Others were al¬ 
ready rolling the ulu-maika (the round stone 
discs for rolling along the ground). Some were 
engaged in the mokomoko, or umauma (boxing), 
and the kulakulai (wrestling), and the honuhonu 
(pulling with hands), and the loulou (pulling with 
hooked fingers), and other athletic sports. 

Some of the spirits were already grouped in 
the shade of trees, playing the gambling games 
in which they had delighted when alive. There 
was the stone konane-board (somewhat like 
checkers), and the puepue-one (a small sand 
mound in which was concealed some object), 
and the puhenehene (the hidden stone under 
piles of kapa), and the many other trials of skill 
which permitted betting. 

Then in another place crowds were gathered 
around the hulas (the many forms of dancing). 
These sports were all in the open air and seemed 
to be full of interest. 

There was a strange quality which fettered 
every new-born ghost: he could only go in the 
direction into which he was pushed by the hand 
of some stronger power. If the guardian of a 
ghost struck it on one side, it would move off 


A VISIT TO THE KING OF GHOSTS 103 

in the direction indicated by the blow or the push 
until spirit strength and experience came and he 
could go alone. The newcomer desired to join 
in these games and started to go, but the sister 
slapped him on the breast and drove him away. 
These were shadow games into which those who 
entered could never go back to the substantial 
things of life. 

Then there was a large grass house inside which 
many ghosts were making merry. The visitor 
wanted to join this great company, but the sister 
knew that, if he once was engulfed by this crowd 
of spirits in this shadow-land, her brother could 
never escape. The crowds of players would 
seize him like a whirlwind and he would be un¬ 
able to know the way he came in or the way out. 
Ka-ilio-hae tried to slip away from his sister, but 
he could not turn readily. He was still a very 
awkward ghost, and his sister slapped him back 
in the way in which she wanted him to go. 

An island which was supposed to float on the 
ocean as one of the homes of the aumakuas (the 
ghosts of the ancestors) had the same characteris¬ 
tics. The ghosts (aumakuas) lived on the shadows 
of all that belonged to the earth-life. It was said 
that a canoe with a party of young people landed 
on this island of dreams and for some time en¬ 
joyed the food and fruits and sports, but after 
returning to their homes could not receive the 


104 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


nourishment of the food of their former lives, and 
soon died. The legends taught that no ghost 
passing out of the body could return unless it 
made the life of the aumakuas tabu to itself. 

Soon the sister led her brother to a great field, 
stone walled, in which were such fine grass houses 
as were built only for chiefs of the highest rank. 
There she pointed to a narrow passage-way into 
which she told her brother he must enter by 
himself. 

“This,” she said, “is the home of Walia, the 
high chief of the ghosts living in this place. You 
must go to him. Listen to all he says to you. 
Say little. Return quickly. There will be three 
watchmen guarding this passage. The first will 
ask you, ‘ What is the fruit [desire] of your heart? ’ 
You will answer, ‘Walia.’ Then he will let you 
enter the passage. 

“Inside the walls of the narrow way will be 
the second watchman. He will ask why you 
come; again answer, ‘Walia/ and pass by him. 

“At the end of the entrance the third guardian 
stands holding a raised spear ready to strike. 
Call to him, ‘Ka-make-loa’ [The Great Death]. 
This is the name of his spear. Then he will ask 
what you want, and you must reply, ‘ To see the 
chief,’ and he will let you pass. 

“Then again when you stand at the door of 
the great house you will see two heads bending 


A VISIT TO THE KING OF GHOSTS 105 

together in the way so that you cannot enter or 
see the king and his queen. If these heads can 
catch a spirit coming to see the king without 
knowing the proper incantations, they will throw 
that ghost into the Po-Milu [The Dark Spirit- 
world]. Watch therefore and remember all that 
is told you. 

“When you see these heads, point your hands 
straight before you between them and open your 
arms, pushing these guards off on each side, 
then the ala-nui [the great way] will be open for 
you—and you can enter. 

“You will see kahilis [soft long feather fans] 
moving over the chiefs. The king will awake and 
call, ‘Why does this traveller come?’ You will 
reply quickly, ‘He comes to see the Divine One.’ 
When this is said no injury will come to you. 
Listen and remember and you will be alive again.” 

Ka-ilio-hae did as he was told with the three 
watchmen, and each one stepped back, saying, 
“Noa” (the tabu is lifted), and he pushed by. 
At the door he shoved the two heads to the side 
and entered the chief’s house to the ka-ikuwai 
(the middle), falling on his hands and knees. The 
servants were waving the kahilis this way and 
that. There was motion, but no noise. 

The chief awoke, looked at Ka-ilio-hae, and 
said: “Aloha, stranger, come near. Who is the 
high chief of your land? ” 


io6 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


Then Ka-ilio-hae gave the name of his king, 
and the genealogy from ancient times of the 
chiefs dead and in the spirit-world. 

The queen of ghosts arose, and the kneeling 
spirit saw one more beautiful than any woman 
in all the island, and he fell on his face before her. 

The king told him to go back and enter his body 
and tell his people about troubles near at hand. 

While he was before the king twice he heard 
messengers call to the people that the sports were 
all over; any one not heeding would be thrown 
into the darkest place of the home of the ghosts 
when the third call had been sounded. 

The sister was troubled, for she knew that at 
the third call the stone walls around the king’s 
houses would close and her brother would be held 
fast forever in the spirit-land, so she uttered her 
incantations and passed the guard. Softly she 
called. Her brother reluctantly came. She 
seized him and pushed him outside. Then they 
heard the third call, and met the multitude of 
ghosts coming inland from their sports in the 
sea, and other multitudes hastening homeward 
from their work and sports on the land. 

They met a beautiful young woman who 
called to them to come to her home, and pointed 
to a point of rock where many birds were rest¬ 
ing. The sister struck her brother and forced 
him down to the seaside where she had her home 


A VISIT TO THE KING OF GHOSTS 107 


and her responsibility, for she was one of the 
guardians of the entrance to the spirit-world. 

She knew well what must be done to restore 
the spirit to the body, so she told her brother 
they must at once obey the command of the king; 
but the brother had seen the delights of the life 
of the aumakuas and wanted to stay. He tried 
to slip away and hide, but his sister held him fast 
and compelled him to go along the beach to his 
old home and his waiting body. 

When they came to the place where the body 
lay she found a hole in the corner of the house 
and pushed the spirit through. When he saw 
the body he was very much afraid and tried to 
escape, but the sister caught him and pushed 
him inside the foot up to the knee. He did not 
like the smell of the body and tried to rush back, 
but she pushed him inside again and held the 
foot fast and shook him and made him go to the 
head. 

The family heard a little sound in the mouth 
and saw breath moving the breast, then they 
knew that he was alive again. They warmed 
the body and gave a little food. When strength 
returned he told his family all about his wonderful 
journey into the land of ghosts. 

Note. —A student should read next the articles 
“Homeless and Desolate Ghosts” and “Ancestor Ghost- 
Gods” in Part II.. 


io8 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


XIV 


KALAI-PAHOA, THE POISON-GOD 

Bishop Museum of Honolulu has one 
of the best as well as one of the most 
scientifically arranged collections of 
Hawaiian curios in the world. In it are images 
of many of the gods of long ago. One of these 
is a helmeted head made of wicker-work, over 
which has been woven a thick covering of beau¬ 
tiful red feathers bordered with yellow feathers. 
This was the mighty war-god, Kukailimoku, of 
the great Kamehameha. Another is a squat 
rough image, crudely carved out of wood. This 
was Kamehameha’s poison-god. 

The ancient Hawaiians were acquainted with 
poisons of various kinds. They understood the 
medicinal qualities of plants and found some of 
these strong enough to cause sickness and even 
death. One of the Hawaiian writers said: “The 
opihi-awa is a poison shell-fish. These are bitter 
and deadly and can be used in putting enemies 
to death. Kalai-pahoa is also a tree in which 
there is the power to kill.” 

Kamehameha’s poison-god was called Kalai- 
pahoa, because it was cut from that tree which 







KALAI-PAHOA, THE POISON-GOD log 

grew in the upland forest on the island of 
Molokai. 

A native writer says there was an antidote for 
the poison from Kalai-pahoa, and he thus de¬ 
scribes it: “The war-god and the poison-god were 
not left standing in the temples like the images 
of other gods, but after being worshipped were 
wrapped in kapa and laid away. 

“When the priest wanted Kalai-pahoa he was 
taken down and anointed with coconut-oil and 
wrapped in a fresh kapa cloth. Then he was 
set up above the altar and a feast prepared 
before him, awa to drink, and pig, fish, and poi 
to eat. 

“Then the priest who had special care of this 
god would scrape off a little from the wood, and 
put it in an awa cup, and hold the cup before the 
god, chanting a prayer for the life of the king, the 
government, and the people. One of the priests 
would then take the awa cup, drink the contents, 
and quickly take food. 

“Those who were watching would presently see 
a red flush creep over his cheeks, growing stronger 
and stronger, while the eyes would become glassy 
and the breath short like that of a dying man. 
Then the priest would touch his lips to the stick, 
Mai-ola, and have his life restored. Mai-ola 
was a god who had another tree. When Kalai- 
pahoa entered his tree on Molokai, Mai-ola 


no 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


entered another tree and became the enemy of 
the poison-god.” 

The priests of the poison-god were very power¬ 
ful in the curious rite called pule-ana-ana, or 
praying to death. The Hawaiians said: “Per¬ 
haps the priests of Kalai-pahoa put poison in 
bananas or in taro. It was believed that they 
scraped the body of the image and put the pieces 
in the food of the one they wished to pray to 
death. There was one chief who was very skilful 
in waving kahilis, or feather fans, over any one 
and shaking the powder of death into the food 
from the moving feathers. Another would have 
scrapings in his cloak and would drop them into 
whatever food his enemy was eating.” The 
spirit of death was supposed to reside in the wood 
of the poison-god. 

A very interesting legend was told by the old 
people to their children to explain the coming 
of medicinal and poisonous properties into the 
various kinds of trees and plants. These stories 
all go back to the time when Milu died and be¬ 
came the king of ghosts. They say that after 
the death of Milu the gods left Waipio Valley on 
the island of Hawaii and crossed the channel to 
the island Maui. 

These gods had all kinds of power for evil, such 
as stopping the breath, chilling or burning the 
body, making headaches or pains in the stomach, 


KA LAI-PA HO A, THE POISON-GOD in 


or causing palsy or lameness or other injuries, 
even inflicting death. 

Pua and Kapo, who from ancient times have 
been worshipped as goddesses having medicinal 
power, joined the party when they came to Maui. 
Then all the gods went up Mauna Loa, a place 
where there was a large and magnificent forest 
with fine trees, graceful vines and ferns, and 
beautiful flowers. They all loved this place, 
therefore they became gods of the forest. 

Near this forest lived Kane-ia-kama, a high 
chief, who was a very great gambler. He had 
gambled away all his possessions. While he was 
sleeping, the night of his final losses, he heard 
some one call, “O Kane-ia-kama, begin your 
play again.” He shouted out into the darkness: 
“I have bet everything. I have nothing left.” 

Then the voice again said, “Bet your bones, 
bet your bones, and see what will happen.” 

When he went to the gambling-place the next 
day the people all laughed at him, for they knew 
his goods were all gone. He sat down among 
them, however, and said: “I truly have nothing 
left. My treasures are all gone, but I have my 
bones. If you wish, I will bet my body, then I 
will play with you.” 

The other chiefs scornfully placed some prop¬ 
erty on one side and said, “That will be of the 
same value as your bones.” 


11 2 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


They gambled and he won. The chiefs were 
angry at their loss and bet again and again. He 
always won until he had more wealth than any 
one on the island. 

After the gambling days were over he heard 
again the same voice saying: “O Kane-ia-kama, 
you have done all that I told you and have become 
very rich in property and servants. Will you 
obey once more?” 

The chief gratefully thanked the god for the 
aid that he had received, and said he would obey. 
The voice then said: “Perhaps we can help you 
to one thing. You are now wealthy, but there is 
a last gift for you. You must listen carefully 
and note all I show you.” 

Then this god of the night pointed out the 
trees into which the gods had entered when they 
decided to remain for a time in the forest, and 
explained to him all their different characteris¬ 
tics. He showed him where gods and goddesses 
dwelt and gave their names. Then he ordered 
Kane-ia-kama to take offerings of pigs, fish, co¬ 
conuts, bananas, chickens, kapas, and all other 
things used for sacrifice, and place them at the 
roots of these trees into which the gods had 
entered, the proper offerings for each. 

The next morning he went into the forest and 
saw that he had received a very careful description 
of each tree. He observed attentively the tree 


KALAI-PAHOA, THE POISON-GOD 113 


shown as the home of the spirit who had become 
his strange helper. 

Before night fell he placed offerings as com¬ 
manded. As a worshipper he took each one of 
these trees for his god, so he had many gods of 
plants and trees. 

For some reason not mentioned in the legends 
he sent woodcutters to cut down these trees, or 
at least to cut gods out of them with their stone 
axes. 

They began to cut. The koko (blood) of the 
trees, as the natives termed the flowing sap, 
and the chips flying out struck some of the 
woodcutters and they fell dead. 

Kane-ia-kama made cloaks of the long leaves 
of the ieie vine and tied them around his men, 
so that their bodies could not be touched, then 
the work was easily accomplished. 

The chief kept these images of gods cut from 
the medicinal trees and could use them as he 
desired. The most powerful of all these gods was 
that one whose voice he had heard in the night. 
To this god he gave the name Kalai-pahoa (The- 
one-cut-by-the-pahoa-or-stone-axe). 

One account relates that the pahoa (stone) 
from which the axe was made came from Kalakoi, 
a celebrated place for finding a very hard lava of 
fine grain, the very best for making stone 
implements. 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


114 

The god who had spoken to the chief in his 
dream was sometimes called Kane-kulana-ula 
(noted red Kane). 

The gods were caught by the sacrifices of the 
chief while they were in their tree bodies before 
they could change back into their spirit bodies, 
therefore their power was supposed to remain in 
the trees. 

It was said that when Kane-kulana-ula changed 
into his tree form he leaped into it with a tre¬ 
mendous flash of lightning, thus the great mana, 
or miraculous power, went into that tree. 

The strange death which came from the god 
Kalai-pahoa made that god and his priest greatly 
feared. One of the pieces of this tree fell into 
a spring at Kaakee near the maika, or disc-roll¬ 
ing field, on Molokai. All the people who drank 
at that spring died. They filled it up and the 
chiefs ruled that the people should not keep 
branches or pieces of the tree for the injury of 
others. If such pieces were found in the pos¬ 
session of any one he should die. Only the carved 
gods were to be preserved. 

Kahekili, king of Maui at the time of the 
accession of Kamehameha to the sovereignty of 
the island Hawaii, had these images in his pos¬ 
session as a part of his household gods. 

Kamehameha sent a prophet to ask him for 
one of these gods. Kahekili refused to send 


KALAI-PAHOA, THE POISON-GOD 115 


one, but told him to wait and he should have 
the poison-god and the government over all the 
islands. 

One account records that a 



small part from the poison 
one was then given. 


So, after the death of Ka- 
hekili, Kamehameha did con¬ 
quer all the islands with their 
hosts of gods, and Kalai- 
pahoa, the poison-god, came 
into his possession. 


The overthrow of idolatry 
and the destruction of the 
system of tabus came in 
1819, when most of the 


wooden gods were burned or 
thrown into ponds and rivers, but a few were 
concealed by their caretakers. Among these 
were the two gods now to be seen in the Bishop 
Museum* in Honolulu. 


* See Appendix. 


n6 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


XV 

KE-AO-MELE-MELE, THE MAID OF 
THE GOLDEN CLOUD 

HE Hawaiians never found gold in their 
islands. The mountains being of recent 
volcanic origin do not show traces of the 
precious metals; but hovering over the mountain- 
tops clustered the glorious golden clouds built up 
by damp winds from the seas. The Maiden of 
the Golden Cloud belonged to the cloud moun¬ 
tains and was named after their golden glow. 

Her name in the Hawaiian tongue was Ke-ao- 
mele-mele (The Golden Cloud). She was said 
to be one of the first persons brought by the gods 
to find a home in the Paradise of the Pacific. 

In the ancient times, the ancestors of the 
Hawaiians came from far-off ocean lands, for 
which they had different names, such as The 
Shining Heaven, The Floating Land of Kane, 
The Far-off White Land of Kahiki, and Kuai- 
he-lani. It was from Kuai-he-lani that the 
Maiden of the Golden Cloud was called to live 
in Hawaii. 

In this legendary land lived Mo-o-inanea 
(self-reliant dragon). She cared for the first 







THE MAID OF THE GOLDEN CLOUD 117 

children of the gods, one of whom was named 
Hina, later known in Polynesian mythology as 
Moon Goddess. 

Mo-o-inanea took her to Ku, one of the gods. 
They lived together many years and a family of 
children came to them. 

Two of the great gods of Polynesia, Kane and 
Kanaloa, had found a beautiful place above 
Honolulu on Oahu, one of the Hawaiian Islands. 
Here they determined to build a home for the 
first-born child of Hina. 

Thousands of eepa (gnome) people lived 
around this place, which was called Waolani. 
The gods had them build a temple which was 
also called Waolani (divine forest). 

When the time came for the birth of the child, 
clouds and fogs crept over the land, thunder 
rolled and lightning flashed, red torrents poured 
down the hillsides, strong winds hurled the rain 
through bending trees, earthquakes shook the 
land, huge waves rolled inland from the sea. 
Then a beautiful boy was born. All these signs 
taken together signified the birth of a chief of 
the highest degree—even of the family of the 
gods. 

Kane and Kanaloa sent their sister Anuenue 
(rainbow) to get the child of Ku and Hina that 
they might care for it. All three should be the 
caretakers. 


Ii8 LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 

Anuenue went first to the place where 
Mo-o-inanea dwelt, to ask her if it would be 
right. Mo-o-inanea said she might go, but if 
they brought up that child he must not have a 
wife from any of the women of Hawaii-nui- 
akea (great wide Hawaii). 

Anuenue asked, “Suppose I get that child; 
who is to give it the proper name? ” 

Mo-o-inanea said: “You bring the child to our 
brothers and they will name this child. They 
have sent you, and the responsibility of the name 
rests on them.” 

Anuenue said good-by, and in the twinkling 
of an eye stood at the door of the house where 
Ku dwelt. 

Ku looked outside and saw the bright glow of 
the rainbow, but no cloud or rain, so he called 
Hina. “Here is a strange thing. You must 
come and look at it. There is no rain and there 
are no clouds or mist, but there is a rainbow at 
our door.” 

They went out, but Anuenue had changed her 
rainbow body and stood before them as a very 
beautiful woman, wrapped only in the colors of 
the rainbow. 

Ku and Hina began to shiver with a nameless 
terror as they looked at this strange maiden. 
They faltered out a welcome, asking her to enter 
their house. 


THE MAID OF THE GOLDEN CLOUD 119 

As she came near to them Ku said, “From 
what place do you come?” 

Anuenue said: “I am from the sky, a mes¬ 
senger sent by my brothers to get your child 
that they may bring it up. When grown, if the 
child wants its parents, we will bring it back. 
If it loves us it shall stay with us.” 

Hina bowed her head and Ku wailed, both 
thinking seriously for a little while. Then Ku 
said: “If Mo-o-inanea has sent you she shall 
have the child. You may take this word to 
her.” 

Anuenue replied: “I have just come from her 
and the word I brought you is her word. If I 
go away I shall not come again.” 

Hina said to Ku: “We must give this child 
according to her word. It is not right to dis¬ 
obey Mo-o-inanea.” 

Anuenue took the child and studied the omens 
for its future, then she said, “This child is of the 
very highest, the flower on the top of the tree.” 

She prepared to take the child away, and bade 
the parents farewell. She changed her body into 
the old rainbow colors shining out of a mist, then 
she wrapped the child in the rainbow, bearing it 
away. 

Ku and Hina went out looking up and watch¬ 
ing the cloud of rainbow colors floating in the 
sky. Strong, easy winds blew and carried this 


120 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


cloud out over the ocean. The navel-string had 
not been cut off, so Anuenue broke off part and 
threw it into the ocean, where it became the 
Hee-makoko, a blood-red squid. This is the 
legendary origin of that kind of squid. 

Anuenue passed over many islands, coming at 
last to Waolani to the temple built by the 
gnomes under Kane and Kanaloa. They con¬ 
secrated the child, and cut off another part of 
the navel-cord. Kanaloa took it to the Nuuanu 
pali back of Honolulu, to the place called Ka- 
ipu-o-Lono. Kane and Kanaloa consulted about 
servants to live with the boy, and decided that 
they must have only ugly ones, who would not 
be desired as wives by their boy. Therefore 
they gathered together the lame, crooked, de¬ 
formed, and blind among the gnome people. 
There were hundreds of these living in different 
homes, and performing different tasks. Anuenue 
was the ruler over all of them. This child was 
named Kahanai-a-ke-Akua (the one adopted 
by the gods). He was given a very high tabu 
by Kane and Kanaloa. No one was allowed to 
stand before him and no person’s shadow could 
fall upon him. 

Hina again conceived. The signs of this child 
appeared in the heavens and were seen on Oahu. 
Kane wanted to send Lanihuli and Waipuhia, 
their daughters, living near the pali of Waolani 



THE MISTY PALI, NUUANU 









































THE MAID OF THE GOLDEN CLOUD 121 

and Nuuanu. The girls asked where they should 
go. 

Kane said: “ We send you to the land Kuai-he- 
lani, a land far distant from Hawaii, to get the 
child of Hina. If the parents ask you about 
your journey, tell them you have come for the 
child. Tell our names and refer to Mo-o-inanea. 
You must now look at the way by which to go 
to Kuai-he-lani. 

They looked and saw a great bird—Iwa. They 
got on this, bird and were carried far up in the 
heavens. By and by the bird called two or three 
times. The girls were frightened and looking 
down saw the bright shining land Kuai-he-lani 
below them. The bird took them to the door of 
Ku’s dwelling-place. 

Ku and Hina were caring for a beautiful girl- 
baby. They looked up and saw two fine women 
at their door. They invited them in and asked 
whence they came and why they travelled. 

The girls told them they were sent by the gods 
Kane and Kanaloa. Suddenly a new voice was 
heard. Mo-o-inanea was by the house. She 
called to Ku and to Hina, telling them to give 
the child into the hands of the strangers, that 
they might take her to Waka, a great priestess, 
to be brought up by her in the ohia forests of 
the island of Hawaii. She named that girl Pali- 
ula, and explained to the parents that when 


122 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


Paliiila should grow up, to be married, the boy 
of Waolani should be her husband. The girls 
then took the babe. They were all carried by 
the bird, Iwa, far away in the sky to Waolani, 
where they told Kane and Kanaloa the message 
or prophecy of Mo-o-inanea. 

The gods sent Iwa with the child to Waka, on 
Hawaii, to her dwelling-place in the districts 
of Hilo and Puna where she was caring for all 
kinds of birds in the branches of the trees and 
among the flowers. 

Waka commanded the birds to build a house 
for Paliula. This was quickly done. She com¬ 
manded the bird Iwa to go to Nuumea-lani, a 
far-off land above Kuai-he-lani, the place where 
Mo-o-inanea was now living. 

It was said that Waka, by her magic power, 
saw in that land two trees, well cared for by 
multitudes of servants; the name of one was 
“Makalei.” This was a tree for fish. All 
kinds of fish would go to it. The second was 
“Kalala-ika-wai.” This was the tree used for 
getting all kinds of food. Call this tree and 
food would appear. 

Waka wanted Mo-o-inanea to send these trees 
to Hawaii. 

Mo-o-inanea gave these trees to Iwa, who 
brought them to Hawaii and gave them to Waka. 
Waka rejoiced and took care of them. The 


THE MAID OF THE GOLDEN CLOUD 123 


bird went back to Waolani, telling Kane and 
Kanaloa all the journey from first to last. 

The gods gave the girls resting-places in the 
fruitful lands under the shadow of the beautiful 
Nuuanu precipices. 

Waka watched over Paliula until she grew 
up, beautiful like the moon of Mahea-lani 
(full moon). 

The fish tree, Makalei, which made the fish 
of all that region tame, was planted by the side 
of running water, in very restful places spreading 
all along the river-sides to the seashore. Fish 
came to every stream where the trees grew, and 
filled the waters. 

The other tree was planted and brought pre¬ 
pared food for Paliula. The hidden land 
where this place was has always been called 
Paliula, a beautiful green spot—a home for 
fruits and flowers and birds in a forest wilderness. 

When Paliula had grown up, Waka went to 
Waolani to meet Kane, Kanaloa, and Anuenue. 
There she saw Kahanai-a-ke-Akua (the boy 
brought up by the gods) and desired him for 
Paliula’s husband. There was no man so 
splendid and no woman so beautiful as these 
two. The caretakers decided that they must 
be husband and wife. 

Waka returned to the island Hawaii to pre¬ 
pare for the coming of the people from Waolani. 


124 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


Waka built new houses finer and better than 
the first, and covered them with the yellow 
feathers of the Mamo bird with the colors of the 
rainbow resting over. Anuenue had sent some 
of her own garments of rainbows. 

Then Waka went again to Waolani to talk 
with Kane and Kanaloa and their sister Anuenue. 

They said to her: “You return, and Anuenue 
will take Kahanai and follow. When the night 
of their arrival comes, lightning will play over 
all the mountains above Waolani and through 
the atmosphere all around the temple, even to 
Hawaii. After a while, around your home the 
leaves of the trees will dance and sing and the 
ohia-trees themselves bend back and forth shak¬ 
ing their beautiful blossoms. Then you may 
know that the Rainbow Maiden and the boy 
are by your home on the island of Hawaii. 

Waka returned to her home in the tangled 
forest above Hilo. There she met her adopted 
daughter and told her about the coming of her 
husband. 

Soon the night of rolling thunder and flashing 
lightning came. The people of all the region 
around Hilo were filled with fear. Kane-hekili 
(flashing lightning) was a miraculous body 
which Kane had assumed. He had gone before 
the boy and the rainbow, flashing his way through 
the heavens. 


THE MAID OF THE GOLDEN CLOUD 125 

The gods had commanded Kane-hekili to 
dwell in the heavens in all places wherever the 
gods desired him to be, so that he could go 
wherever commanded. He always obeyed with¬ 
out questioning. 

The thunder and lightning played over ocean 
and land while the sun was setting beyond the 
islands in the west. 

After a time the trees bent over, the leaves 
danced and chanted their songs. The flowers 
made a glorious halo as they swayed back and 
forth in their dances. 

Kane told the Rainbow Maiden to take their 
adopted child to Hawaii-nui-akea. 

When she was ready, she heard her brothers 
calling the names of trees which were to go with 
her on her journey. Some of the legends say 
that Laka, the hula-god, was dancing before the 
two. The tree people stood before the Rainbow 
Maiden and the boy, ready to dance all the way 
to Hawaii. The tree people are always restless 
and in ceaseless motion. The gods told them 
to sing together and dance. Two of the tree 
people were women, Ohia and Lamakea. 
Lamakea is a native whitewood tree. There 
are large trees at Waialae in the mountains of 
the island Oahu. Ohia is a tree always full of 
fringed red blossoms. They were very beauti¬ 
ful in their wind bodies. They were kupuas, 


126 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


or wizards, and could be moving trees or dancing 
women as they chose. 

The Rainbow Maiden took the boy in her 
arms up into the sky, and with the tree people 
went on her journey. She crossed over the 
islands to the mountains of the island Hawaii, 
then went down to find Paliula. 

She placed the tree people around the house 
to dance and sing with soft rustling noises. 

Waka heard the chants of the tree people and 
opened the door of the glorious house, calling for 
Kahanai to come in. When Paliula saw 
him, her heart fluttered with trembling delight, 
for she knew this splendid youth was the husband 
selected by Waka, the prophetess. Waka called 
the two trees belonging to Paliula to bring 
plenty of fish and food. 

Then Waka and Anuenue left their adopted 
children in the wonderful yellow feather house. 

The two young people, when left together, 
talked about their birthplaces and their parents. 
Paliula first asked Kahanai about his land and 
his father and mother. He told her that he was 
the child of Ku and Hina from Kuai-he-lani, 
brought up by Kane and the other gods at 
Waolani. 

The girl went out and asked Waka about her 
parents, and learned that this was her first-born 
brother, who was to be her husband because 


THE MAID OF THE GOLDEN CLOUD 127 


they had very high divine blood. Their descend¬ 
ants would be the chiefs of the people. This 
marriage was a command from parents and 
ancestors and Mo-o-inanea. 

She went into the house, telling the brother 
who she was, and the wish of the gods. 

After ten days they were married and lived 
together a long time. 

At last, Kahanai desired to travel all around 
Hawaii. In this journey he met Poliahu, the 
white-mantle girl of Mauna Kea, the snow-cov¬ 
ered mountain of the island Hawaii. 

Meanwhile, in Kuai-he-lani, Ku and Hina 
were living together. One day Mo-o-inanea 
called to Hina, telling her that she would be the 
mother of a more beautiful and wonderful child 
than her other two children. This child should 
live in the highest places of the heavens and 
should have a multitude of bodies which could 
be seen at night as well as in the day. 

Mo-o-inanea went away to Nuumea-lani and 
built a very wonderful house in Ke-alohi-lani 
(shining land), a house always turning around 
by day and by night like the ever moving clouds, 
indeed, it was built of all kinds of clouds and 
covered with fogs. There she made a spring 
of flowing water and put it outside for the coming 
child to have as a bath. There she planted the 
seeds of magic flowers, Kanikawi and Kanikawa, 


128 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


legendary plants of old Hawaii. Then she 
went to Kuai-he-lani and found Ku and Hina 
asleep. She took a child out of the top of the 
head of Hina and carried it away to the new 
home, naming it Ke-ao-mele-mele (the yellow 
cloud), the Maiden of the Golden Cloud, a won¬ 
derfully beautiful girl. 

No one with a human body was permitted to 
come to this land of Nuumea-lani. No kupuas 
were allowed to make trouble for the child. 

The ao-opua (narrow-pointed clouds) were 
appointed watchmen serving Ke-ao-mele-mele, 
the Maiden of the Golden Cloud. 

All the other clouds were servants: the ao- 
opua-kakahiaka (morning clouds), ao-opua- 
ahiahi (evening clouds), ao-opua-aumoe (night 
clouds), ao-opua-kiei (peeking clouds), ao-opua- 
aha-lo (down-looking clouds), ao-opua-ku (image¬ 
shaped clouds rising at top of sea), opua-hele 
(morning-flower clouds), opua-noho-mai (resting 
clouds), opua-mele-mele (gold-colored clouds), 
opua-lani (clouds high up), ka-pae-opua (at 
surface of sea or clouds along the horizon), ka- 
lani-opua (clouds up above horizon), ka-ma- 
kao-ka-lani (clouds in the eye of the sun), ka- 
wele-lau-opua (clouds highest in the sky). 

All these clouds were caretakers watching for 
the welfare of that girl. Mo-o-inanea gave them 
their laws for service. 


THE MAID OF THE GOLDEN CLOUD 129 

She took Ku-ke-ao-loa (the long cloud of Ku) 
and put him at the door of the house of clouds, 
with great magic power. He was to be the 
messenger to all the cloud-lands of the parents 
and ancestors of this girl. 

“The Eye of the Sun” was the cloud with 
magic power to see all things passing under¬ 
neath near or far. 

Then there was the opua-alii, cloud-chief with 
the name Ka-ao-opua-ola (the sharp-pointed 
living cloud). This was the sorcerer and as¬ 
tronomer, never weary, never tired, knowing 
and watching over all things. 

Mo-o-inanea gave her mana-nui, or great magic 
power, to Ke-ao-mele-mele—with divine tabus. 
She made this child the heir of all the divine 
islands, therefore she was able to know what 
was being done everywhere. She understood 
how the Kahanai had forsaken his sister to live 
with Poliahu. So she went to Hawaii to aid 
her sister Paliula. 

When Mo-o-inanea had taken the child from 
the head of Hina, Ku and Hina were aroused. 
Ku went out and saw wonderful cloud images 
standing near the house, like men. Ku and 
Hina watched these clouds shining and changing 
colors in the light of the dawn, as the sun ap¬ 
peared. The light of the sun streamed over 
the skies. For three days these changing clouds 


130 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


were around them. Then in the midst of these 
clouds appeared a strange land of the skies sur¬ 
rounded by the ao-opua (the narrow-pointed 
clouds). In the night of the full moon, the aka 
(ghost) shadow of that land leaped up into the 
moon and became fixed there. This was the 
Alii-wahine-aka-malu (the queen of shadows), 
dwelling in the moon. 

Ku and Hina did not understand the meaning 
of these signs or shadows, so they went back into 
the house, falling into deep sleep. 

Mo-o-inanea spoke to Hina in her dreams, say¬ 
ing that these clouds were signs of her daughter 
born from the head—a girl having great knowl¬ 
edge and miraculous power in sorcery, who 
would take care of them in their last days. They 
must learn all the customs of kilo-kilo, or sorcery. 

Mo-o-inanea again sent Ku-ke-ao-loa to the 
house of Ku, that cloud appearing as a man at 
their door. 

They asked who he was. He replied: “I 
am a messenger sent to teach you the sorcery or 
witcheries of cloud-land. You must have this 
knowledge that you may know your cloud- 
daughter. Let us begin our work at this time.” 

They all went outside the house and sat down 
on a stone at the side of the door. 

Ku-ke-ao-loa looked up and called Mo-o- 
inanea by name. His voice went to Ke-alohi- 


THE MAID OF THE GOLDEN CLOUD 131 


lani, and Mo-o-inanea called for all the clouds 
to come with their ruler Ke-ao-mele-mele. 

“Arise, O yellow cloud, 

Arise, O cloud—the eye of the sun. 

Arise, O beautiful daughters of the skies, 

Shine in the eyes of the sun, arise!” 

Ke-ao-mele-mele arose and put on her glorious 
white kapas like the snow on Mauna Kea. At 
this time the cloud watchmen over Kuai-he-lani 
were revealing their cloud forms to Hina and Ku. 
The Long Cloud told Hina and Ku to look 
sharply into the sky to see the meaning of all the 
cloud forms which were servants of the divine 
chiefess, their habits of meeting, moving, sepa¬ 
rating, their forms, their number, the stars ap¬ 
pearing through them, the fixed stars and moving 
clouds, the moving stars and moving clouds, the 
course of the winds among the different clouds. 

When he had taught Ku and Hina the sorcery 
of cloud-land, he disappeared and returned to 
Ke-alohi-lani. 

Some time afterward, Ku went out to the side 
of their land. He saw a cloud of very beautiful 
form, appearing like a woman. This was resting 
in the sky above his head. Hina woke up, 
missed Ku, looked out and saw Ku sitting on 
the beach watching the clouds above him. She 
went to him and by her power told him that 
he had the desire to travel and that he might 


132 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


go on his journey and find the woman of his 
vision. 

A beautiful chiefess, Hiilei, was at that time 
living in one of the large islands of the heavens. 
Ku and Hina went to this place. Ku married 
Hiilei, and Hina found a chief named Olopana 
and married him. Ku and Hiilei had a red¬ 
skin child, a boy, whom they named Kau-mai- 
liula (twilight resting in the sky). This child 
was taken by Mo-o-inanea to Ke-alohi-lani to 
live with Ke-ao-mele-mele. Olopana and Hina 
had a daughter whom they called Kau-lana-iki- 
pokii (beautiful daughter of sunset), who was 
taken by Ku and Hiilei. 

Hina then called to the messenger cloud to 
come and carry a request to Mo-o-inanea that 
Kau-mai-liula be given to her and Olopana. 
This was done. So they were all separated from 
each other, but in the end the children were 
taken to Hawaii. 

Meanwhile Paliula was living above Hilo 
with her husband Kahanai-a-ke-Akua (adopted 
son of the gods). Kahanai became restless and 
determined to see other parts of the land, so he 
started on a journey around the islands. He soon 
met a fine young man Waiola (water of life). 

Waiola had never seen any one so glorious in 
appearance as the child of the gods, so he fell 
down before him, saying: “I have never seen 


THE MAID OF THE GOLDEN CLOUD 133 

any one so divine as you. You must have come 
from the skies. I will belong to you through 
the coming years.” 

The chief said, “I take you as my aikane 
[bosom friend] to the last days.” 

They went down to Waiakea, a village near 
Hilo, and met a number of girls covered with 
wreaths of flowers and leaves. Kahanai sent 
Waiola to sport with them. He himself was of 
too high rank. One girl told her brother Kanuku 
to urge the chief to come down, and sent him 
leis. He said he could not receive their gift, 
but must wear his own lei. He called for his 
divine caretaker to send his garlands, and imme¬ 
diately the most beautiful rainbows wrapped 
themselves around his neck and shoulders, fall¬ 
ing down around his body. 

Then he came down to Waiakea. The chief 
took Kanuku also as a follower and went on 
up the coast to Hamakua. 

The chief looked up Mauna Kea and there 
saw the mountain women, who lived in the white 
land above the trees. Poliahu stood above the 
precipices in her kupua-ano (wizard character), 
revealing herself as a very beautiful woman 
wearing a white mantle. 

When the chief and his friends came near the 
cold place where she was sitting, she invited 
them to her home, inland and mountainward. 


134 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


The chief asked his friends to go with him to the 
mountain house of the beauty of Mauna Kea. 

They were well entertained. Poliahu called 
her sisters, Lilinoe and Ka-lau-a-kolea, beautiful 
girls, and gave them sweet-sounding shells to 
blow. All through the night they made music 
and chanted the stirring songs of the grand 
mountains. The chief delighted in Poliahu and 
lived many months on the mountain. 

One morning Paliula in her home above Hilo 
awoke from a dream in which she saw Poliahu 
and the chief living together, so she told Waka, 
asking if the dream were true. Waka, by her 
magic power, looked over the island and saw 
the three young men living with the three 
maidens of the snow mantle. She called with a 
penetrating voice for the chief to return to his 
own home. She went in the form of a great 
bird and brought him back. 

But Poliahu followed, met the chief secretly 
and took him up to Mauna Kea again, covering 
the mountain with snow so that Waka could 
not go to find them. 

Waka and the bird friends of Paliula could 
not reach the mountain-top because of the cold. 
Waka went to Waolani and told Anuenue about 
Paliula’s trouble. 

Anuenue was afraid that Kane and Kanaloa 
might hear that the chief had forsaken his sister, 


THE MAID OF THE GOLDEN CLOUD 135 

and was much troubled, so she asked Waka to 
go with her to see Mo-o-inanea at Ke-alohi-lani, 
but the gods Kane and Kanaloa could not 
be deceived. They understood that there was 
trouble, and came to meet them. 

Kane told Waka to return and tell the girl to 
be patient; the chief should be punished for 
deserting her. 

Waka returned and found that Paliula had 
gone away wandering in the forest, picking lehua 
flowers on the way up toward the Lua Pele, the 
volcano pit of Pele, the goddess of fire. There 
she had found a beautiful girl and took her as 
an aikane (friend) to journey around Hawaii. 
They travelled by way of the districts of Puna, 
Kau, and Kona to Waipio, where she saw a fine- 
looking man standing above a precipice over 
which leaped the wonderful mist-falls of Hiilawe. 
This young chief married the beautiful girl 
friend of Paliula. 

Poliahu by her kupua power recognized 
Paliula, and told the chief that she saw her with 
a new husband. 

Paliula went on to her old home and rested 
many days. Waka then took her from island to 
island until they were near Oahu. When they 
came to the beach, Paliula leaped ashore and 
went up to Manoa Valley. There she rushed 
into the forest and climbed the ridges and preci- 


136 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


pices. She wandered through the rough places, 
her clothes torn and ragged. 

Kane and Kanaloa saw her sitting on the 
mountain-side. Kane sent servants to find her 
and bring her to live with them at Waolani. 
When she came to the home of the gods in 
Nuuanu Valley she thought longingly of her 
husband and sang this mele: 

“ Lo, at Waolani is my lei of the blood-red rain, 

The lei of the misty rain gathered and put together, 

Put together in my thought with tears. 

Spoiled is the body by love, 

Dear in the eyes of the lover. 

My brother, the first-born, 

Return, oh, return, my brother.” 

Paliula, chanting this, turned away from Wao¬ 
lani to Waianae and dwelt for a time with the 
chiefess Kalena. 

While Paliula was living with the people of 
the cold winds of Waianae she wore leis of 
mokahana berries and fragrant grass, and was 
greatly loved by the family. She went up the 
mountain to a great gulch. She lay down to 
sleep, but heard a sweet voice saying, “You 
cannot sleep on the edge of that gulch.” She 
was frequently awakened by that voice. She 
went on up the mountain-ridges above Waianae. 
At night when she rested she heard the voices 
again and again. This was the voice of Hii-lani- 
wai, who was teaching the hula dance to the 


THE MAID OF THE GOLDEN CLOUD 137 


girls of Waianae. Paliula wanted to see the 
one who had such a sweet .voice, so went along 
the pali and came to a hula house, but the house 
was closed tight and she could not look in. 

She sat down outside. Soon Hii-lani-wai 
opened the door and saw Paliula and asked her 
to come in. It was the first time Paliula had 
seen this kind of dancing. Her delight in the 
dance took control of her mind, and she forgot 
her husband and took Hii-lani-wai as her aikane, 
dwelling with her for a time. 

One day they went out into the forest. Kane 
had sent the dancing trees from Waolani to 
meet them. While in the forest they heard the 
trees singing and dancing like human beings. 
Hii-lani-wai called this a very wonderful thing. 
Paliula told her that she had seen the trees do 
this before. The trees made her glad. 

They went down to the seaside and visited 
some days. Paliula desired a boat to go to 
the island of Kauai. The people told them of 
the dangerous waters, but the girls were stub¬ 
born, so they were given a very small boat. 
Hii-lani-wai was steering, and Paliula was pad¬ 
dling and bailing out the water. The anger of 
the seas did not arise. On the way Paliula fell 
asleep, but the boat swiftly crossed the channel. 
Their boat was covered with all the colors of 
the rainbow. Some women on land at last saw 


138 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


them and beckoned with their hands for them 
to come ashore. 

Malu-aka (shadow of peace) was the most 
beautiful of all the women on Kauai. She was 
kind and hospitable and took them to her house. 
The people came to see these wonderful strangers. 
Paliula told Malu-aka her story. She rested, 
with the Kauai girls, then went with Malu-aka 
over the island and learned the dances of Kauai, 
becoming noted throughout the island for her 
wonderful grace and skill, dancing like the wind, 
feet not touching the ground. Her songs and 
the sound of the whirling dance were lifted by 
the winds and carried into the dreams of Ke-ao- 
mele-mele. 

Meanwhile, Ke-ao-mele-mele was living with 
her cloud-watchmen and Mo-o-inanea at Ke- 
alohi-lani. She began to have dreams, hearing a 
sweet voice singing and seeing a glorious woman 
dancing, while winds were whispering in the 
forests. For five nights she heard the song and 
the sound of the dance. Then she told Mo-o- 
inanea, who explained her dream, saying: “That 
is the voice of Paliula, your sister, who is danc¬ 
ing and singing near the steep places of Kauai. 
Her brother-husband has forsaken her and she 
has had much trouble. He is living with Poliahu 
on Hawaii.” 

When Ke-ao-mele-mele heard this, she thought 


THE MAID OF THE GOLDEN CLOUD 139 

she would go and live with her sister. Mo-o-ina- 
nea approved of the thought and gaye her all 
kinds of kupua power. She told her to go and 
see the god Kane, who would tell her what to do. 

At last she started on her journey with her 
watching clouds. She went to see Hina and 
Olopana, and Ku and Hiilei. She saw Kau- 
mai-liula (twilight resting in the sky), who was 
very beautiful, like the deep red flowers of the 
ohia in the shadows of the leaves of the tree. 
She determined to come back and marry him 
after her journey to Oahu. 

When she left Kuai-he-lani with her followers 
she flew like a bird over the waves of the sea. 
Soon she passed Niihau and came to Kauai to 
the place where Paliula was dancing, and as 
a cloud with her cloud friends spied out the land. 
The soft mists of her native land were scattered 
over the people by these clouds above them. 
Paliula was reminded of her birth-land and 
the loved people of her home. 

Ke-ao-mele-mele saw the beauty of the dance 
and understood the love expressed in the chant. 
She flew away from Kauai, crossed the channel, 
came to Waolani, met Kane and Kanaloa and 
told them she had come to learn from them what 
was the right thing to do for the sister and the 
husband who had deserted her. Kane suggested 
a visit to Hawaii to see Paliula and the chief, 


140 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


so she flew over the islands to Hawaii. Then 
she went up the mountain with the ao-pii-kai 
(a cloud rising from the sea and climbing the 
mountain) until she saw Poliahu and her beau¬ 
tiful sisters. 

Poliahu looked down the mountain-side and 
saw a woman coming, but she looked again and 
the woman had disappeared. In a little while 
a golden cloud rested on the summit of the 
mountain. It was the maid in her cloud body- 
watching her brother and the girl of the white 
mountains. For more than twenty days she 
remained in that place. Then she returned to 
Waolani on Oahu. 

Ke-ao-mele-mele determined to learn the 
hulas and the accompanying songs. Kane told 
her she ought to learn these things. There was 
a fine field for dancing at the foot of the moun¬ 
tain near Waolani, and Kane had planted a 
large kukui-tree by its side to give it shade. 

Kane and his sister Anuenue went to this field 
and sat down in their place. The daughters of 
Nuuanu Pali were there. Kane sent Ke-ao- 
mele-mele after the dancing-goddess, Kapo, 
who lived at Mauna Loa. She was the sister 
of the poison-gods and knew the art of sorcery. 
Ke-ao-mele-mele took gifts, went to Kapo, made 
offerings, and thus for the first time secured a 
goddess for the hula. 


DANCING THE HULA 





















THE MAID OF THE GOLDEN CLOUD 141 

Kapo taught Ke-ao-mele-mele the chants and 
the movements of the different hulas until she 
was very skilful. She flew over the seas to Oahu 
and showed the gods her skill. Then, she went 
to Kauai, danced on the surf and in the clouds 
and above the forests and in the whirlwinds. 
Each night she went to one of the other islands, 
danced in the skies and over the waters, and 
returned home. At last she went to Hawaii 
to Mauna Kea, where she saw Kahanai, her 
brother. She persuaded him to leave the maiden 
of the snow mantle and return to Waolani. 
Paliula and her friends had returned to the 
home with Waka, where she taught the leaves 
of clinging vines and the flowers and leaves on 
the tender swinging branches of the forest trees 
new motions in their dances with the many 
kinds of winds. 

One day Kahanai saw signs among the stars 
and in the clouds which made him anxious to 
travel, so he asked Kane for a canoe. Kane 
called the eepa and the menehune people and 
told them to make canoes to carry Kahanai to 
his parents. 

These boats were made in the forests of Wao¬ 
lani. When the menehunes finished their boat 
they carried it down Nuuanu Valley to Puunui. 
There they rested and many of the little folk 
came to help, taking the canoe down, step by 


142 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


step, to the mouth of the Nuuanu stream, where 
they had the aid of the river to the ocean. 

The menehunes left the boat floating in the 
water and went back to Waolani. Of the fairy 
people it was said: “No task is difficult. It is 
the work of one hand.” 

On the way down Nuuanu Valley the mene¬ 
hunes came to Ka-opua-ua (storm cloud). They 
heard the shouting of other people and hurried 
along until they met the Namunawa people, 
the eepas, carrying a boat, pushing it down. 
When they told the eepas that the chief had 
already started on his journey with double 
canoes, the eepas left their boat there to slowly 
decay, but it is said that it lasted many cent¬ 
uries. 

The people who made this boat were the 
second class of the little people living at Wao¬ 
lani, having the characters of human beings, yet 
having also the power of the fairy people. These 
were the men of the time of Kane and the gods. 

Kahanai and his friends were in their boat 
when a strong wind swept down Nuuanu, carry¬ 
ing the dry leaves of the mountains and sweep¬ 
ing them into the sea. The waves were white 
as the boat was blown out into the ocean. Ka¬ 
hanai steered by magic power, and the boat like 
lightning swept away from the islands to the 
homes of Ku and Hina. The strong wind and 


THE MAID OF THE GOLDEN CLOUD 143 


the swift current were with the boat, and the 
voyage was through the waves like swift light¬ 
ning flashing through clouds. 

Ku and Hiilei saw the boat coming. Its 
signs were in the heavens. Ku came and asked 
the travellers, “ What boat is this, and from what 
place has it come?” 

Kahanai said, “This boat has come from Wao- 
lani, the home of the gods Kane and Kanaloa 
and of Ke-ao-mele-mele.” 

Then Ku asked again, “Whose child are you?” 

He replied, “The son of Ku and Hina.” 

“How many other children in your family?” 

He said: “There are three of us. I am the 
boy and there are two sisters, Paliula and Ke- 
ao-mele-mele. I have been sent by Ke-ao-mele- 
mele to get Kau-mai-liula and Kau-lana-iki- 
pokii to go to Oahu.” 

Ku and his wife agreed to the call of the mes¬ 
senger for their boy Kau-mai-liula. 

When Kahanai saw him he knew that there 
was no other one so fine as this young man who 
quickly consented to go to Oahu with his servants. 

Ku called for some beautiful red boats with 
red sails, red paddles,—everything red. Four 
good boatmen were provided for each boat, men 
who came from the land of Ulu-nui—the land 
of the yellow sea and the black sea of Kane— 
and obeyed the call of Mo-o-inanea. They had 


144 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


kupua power. They were relatives of Kane 
and Kanaloa. 

The daughter of Hina and Olopana, Kau- 
lana-iki-pokii, cried to go with her brother, but 
Mo-o-inanea called for her dragon family to make 
a boat for her and ordered one of the sorcerer 
dragons to go with her and guard her. They 
called the most beautiful shells of the sea to 
become the boats for the girl and her attendants. 
They followed the boats of Kahanai. With one 
stroke of the paddles the boats passed through 
the seas around the home of the gods. With 
the second stroke they broke through all the 
boundaries of the great ocean and with the third 
dashed into the harbor of old Honolulu, then 
known as Kou. 

When the boats of Kahanai and Kau-mai-liula 
came to the surf of Mamala, there was great 
shouting inland of Kou, the voices of the eepas 
of Waolani. Mists and rainbows rested over 
Waolani. The menehunes gathered in great 
multitudes at the call of Kane, who had seen the 
boats approaching. 

The menehune people ran down to lift up the 
boats belonging to the young chief. They made 
a line from Waolani to the sea. They lifted up 
the boats and passed them from hand to hand 
without any effort, shouting with joy. 

While these chiefs were going up to Waolani, 


THE MAID OF THE GOLDEN CLOUD 145 

Ke-ao-mele-mele came from Hawaii in her cloud 
boats. 

Kane had told the menehunes to prepare 
houses quickly for her. It was done like the 
motion of the eye. 

Ke-ao-mele-mele entered her house, rested, 
and after a time practised the hula. 

The chiefs also had houses prepared, which 
they entered. 

The shell boats found difficulty in entering 
the bay because the other boats were in the way. 
So they turned off to the eastern side of the 
harbor. Thus the ancient name of that side 
was given Ke-awa-lua (the second harbor, or 
the second landing-place in the harbor). Here 
they landed very quietly. The shell boats be¬ 
came very small and Kau-lana and her com¬ 
panions took them and hid them in their clothes. 
They went along the beach, saw some fish. The 
attendants took them for the girl. This gave 
the name Kau-lana-iki-pokii to that place to this 
day. As they went along, the dragon friend 
made the signs of a high chief appear over the 
girl. The red rain and arching bow were over 
her, so the name was given to that place, Ka-ua- 
koko-ula (blood rain), which is the name to this 
day. 

The dragon changed her body and carried the 
girl up Nuuanu Valley very swiftly to the house 


146 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


of Ke-ao-mele-mele (the maiden of the golden 
cloud) without the knowledge of Kane and the 
others. They heard the hula of Ke-ao-mele-mele. 
Soon she felt that some one was outside, and 
looking saw the girl and her friend, with the 
signs of a chief over her. 

So she called: 

“Is that you, O eye of the day? 

O lightning-like eye from Kahiki, 

The remembered one coming to me. 

The strong winds have been blowing, 

Trembling comes into my breast, 

A stranger perhaps is outside, 

A woman whose sign is the fog, 

A stranger and yet my young sister, 

The flower of the divine home-land, 

The wonderful land of the setting sun 
Going down into the deep blue sea. 

You belong to the white ocean of Kane, 

You are Kau-lana-iki-pokii, 

The daughter of the sunset, 

The woman coming in the mist, 

In the thunder and the flash of lightning 
Quivering in the sky above. 

Light falls on the earth below. 

The sign of the chiefess, 

The woman high up in the heavens, 

Kau-lana-iki-pokii, 

Enter, enter, here am I.” 


Those outside heard the call and understood 
that Ke-ao-mele-mele knew who they were. 
They entered and saw her in all the beauty of 
her high divine blood. 

They kissed. Kau-lana told how she had 
come. Ke-ao-mele-mele told the dragon to go 


THE MAID OF THE GOLDEN CLOUD 147 

and stay on the mountain by the broken pali at 
the head of Nuuanu Valley. So she went to 
the precipice and became the watchman of that 
place. She was the first dragon on the islands. 
She watched with magic power. Later, Mo-o- 
inanea came with many dragons to watch over 
the islands. Ke-ao-mele-mele taught her young 
sister the different hulas and meles, so that they 
were both alike in their power. 

When the young men heard hula voices in the 
other houses they thought they would go and 
see the dancers. At the hour of twilight Wao- 
lani shook as if in an earthquake, and there was 
thunder and lightning. 

The young men and Anuenue went to the 
house and saw the girls dancing, and wondered 
how Kau-lana had come from the far-off land. 

Ke-ao-mele-mele foretold the future for the 
young people. She told Kau-lana that she 
would never marry, but should have magic 
medicine power for all coming days, and Kahanai 
should have the power over all customs of priests 
and sorcerers and knowledge of sacrifices, and 
should be the bosom friend of the medicine- 
goddess. She said that they would all go to 
Waipio, Hawaii. Kane, Kanaloa, and Anuenue 
approved of her commands. 

Ke-ao-mele-mele sent Kau-lana to Hawaii to 
tell Paliula to come and live with them at Waipio 


148 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


and find Kahanai once more. Kau-lana has¬ 
tened to Hawaii in her shell boat. She called, 
“O my red shell boat of the deep blue sea and 
the black sea, come up to me.” 

The shell boat appeared on the surface of the 
sea, floating. The girl was carried swiftly to 
Hawaii. There she found Waka and Paliula 
a;nd took them to Waipio. They lived for a 
time there, then all went to Waolani to com¬ 
plete the marriage of Ke-ao-mele-mele to Kau- 
mai-liula. 

Kane sent Waka and Anuenue for Ku and 
Hiilei, Hina and Olopana with Mo-o-inanea to 
come to Oahu. 

Mo-o-inanea prepared large ocean-going canoes 
for the two families, but she and her people went 
in their magic boats. 

Mo-o-inanea told them they would never 
return to these lands, but should find their future 
home in Hawaii. 

Waka went on Ku’s boat, Anuenue was with 
Hina. Ku and his friends looked back, the land 
was almost lost; they soon saw nothing until the 
mountains of Oahu appeared before them. 

They landed at Heeia on the northern side of 
the Nuuanu precipice, went over to Waolani, 
and met all the family who had come before. 

Before Mo-o-inanea left her land she changed 
it, shutting up all the places where her family 


THE MAID OF THE GOLDEN CLOUD 149 


had lived. She told all her kupua dragon family 
to come with her to the place where the gods 
had gone. Thus she made the old lands entirely 
different from any other lands, so that no 
other persons but gods or ghosts could live in 
them. 

Then she rose up to come away. The land 
was covered with rainclouds, heavy and black. 
The land disappeared and is now known as “The 
Hidden Land of Kane.” 

She landed on Western Oahu, at Waialua, so 
that place became the home of the dragons, and 
it was filled with the dragons from Waialua to 
Ewa. 

This was the coming of dragons to the Ha¬ 
waiian Islands. 

At the time of the marriage of Ke-ao-mele-mele 
and Kau-mai-liula, the Beautiful Daughter of 
Sunset came from the island Hawaii bringing 
the two trees Makalei and Makuukao, which 
prepared cooked food and fish. When she heard 
the call to the marriage she came with the 
trees. Makalei brought great multitudes of 
fish from all the ocean to the Koo-lau-poko 
side of the island Oahu. The ocean was red 
with the fish. 

Makuukao came to Nuuanu Valley with 
Kau-lana, entered Waolani, and provided plenty 
of food. 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


T 5 ° 

Then Makalei started to come up from the 
sea. 

Kau-lana-iki-pokii told the gods and people 
that there must not be any noise when that 
great tree came up from the sea. They must 
hear and remain silent. 

When the tree began to come to the foot of 
the pali, the menehunes and eepas were aston¬ 
ished and began to shout with a great voice, for 
they thought this was a mighty kupua from 
Kahiki coming to destroy them. 

When they had shouted, Makalei fell down 
at the foot of the pali near Ka-wai-nui, and lies 
there to this day. So this tree never came to 
Waolani and the fish were scattered around the 
island. 

Kau-lana’s wrath was very great, and he told 
Kane and the others to punish these noisy ones, 
to take them away from this wonderful valley 
of the gods. He said, “No family of these must 
dwell on Waolani. ” Thus the fairies and the 
gnomes were driven away and scattered over the 
islands. 

For a long time the Maiden of the Golden 
Cloud and her husband, Twilight Resting in 
the Sky, ruled over all the islands even to the 
mysterious lands of the ocean. When death 
came they laid aside their human bodies and 
never made use of them again—but as au- 


THE MAID OF THE GOLDEN CLOUD 151 


makuas, or ghost-gods, they assumed their divine 
forms, and in the skies, over the mountains and 
valleys, they have appeared for hundreds of 
years watching over and cheering their descend¬ 
ants. 

Note. —See now article on “Dragon Ghost-gods” in 
Part II. 



152 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 



XVI 

PUNA AND THE DRAGON 

images of goddesses were clothed in 
ow kapa cloth and worshipped in 
temples. One was Kiha-wahine, a 
noted dragon-goddess, and the other was Haumea, 
who was also known as Papa, the wife of Wakea, 
a great ancestor-god among the Polynesians. 

Haumea is said to have taken as her husband, 
Puna, a chief of Oahu. He and his people were 
going around the island. The surf was not very 
good, and they wanted to find a better place. At 
last they found a fine surf-place where a beautiful 
woman was floating on the sea. 

She called to Puna, “This is not a good place 
for surf.” He asked, “Where is there a place?” 
She answered, “I know where there is one, far 
outside.” She desired to get Puna. So they 
swam way out in the sea until they were out of 
sight nor could they see the sharp peaks of the 
mountains. They forgot everything else but 
each other. This woman was Kiha-wahine. 





PUNA AND THE DRAGON 


*53 


The people on the beach wailed, but did not 
take canoes to help them. They swam over to 
Molokai. Here they left their surf-boards on 
the beach and went inland. They came to the 
cave house of the woman. He saw no man 
inside nor did he hear any voice, all was quiet. 

Puna stayed there as a kind of prisoner and 
obeyed the commands of the woman. She took 
care of him and prepared his food. They lived 
as husband and wife for a long time, and at last 
his real body began to change. 

Once he went out of the cave. While standing 
there he heard voices, loud and confused. He 
wanted to see what was going on, but he could 
not go, because the woman had laid her law on 
him, that if he went away he would be killed. 

He returned to the cave and asked the woman, 
“What is that noise I heard from the sea?” She 
said: “Surf-riding, perhaps, or rolling the maika 
stone. Some one is winning and you heard the 
shouts.” He said, “It would be fine for me to 
see the things you have mentioned.” She said, 
“To-morrow will be a good time for you to go 
and see.” 

In the morning he went down to the sea to the 
place where the people were gathered together 
and saw many sports. 

While he was watching, one of the men, Hinole, 
the brother of his wife, saw him and was pleased. 


iS4 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


When the sports were through he invited Puna 
to go to their house and eat and talk. 

Hinole asked him, “Whence do you come, and 
what house do you live in?” He said, “I am 
from the mountains, and my house is a cave.” 
Hinole meditated, for he had heard of the loss 
of Puna at Oahu. He loved his brother-in-law, 
and asked, “How did you come to this place?” 
Puna told him all the story. Then Hinole told 
him his wife was a goddess. “When you return 
and come near to the place, go very easily and 
softly, and you will see her in her real nature, as 
a mo-o, or dragon; but she knows all that you 
are doing and what we are saying. Now listen 
to a parable. Your first wife, Haumea, is the 
first born of all the other women. Think of the 
time when she was angry with you. She had 
been sporting with you and then she said in a 
tired way, T want the water.’ You asked, ‘What 
water do you want?’ She said, ‘The water from 
Poliahu of Mauna Kea.’ You took a water-jar 
and made a hole so that the water always leaked 
out, and then you went to the pit of Pele. That 
woman Pele was very old and blear-eyed, so that 
she could not see you well, and you returned to 
Haumea. She was that wife of yours. If you 
escape this mo-o wife she will seek my life. It 
is my thought to save your life, so that you can 
look into the eyes of your first wife.” 


PUNA AND THE DRAGON 155 

The beautiful dragon-woman had told him 
to cry with a loud voice when he went back 
to the cave. But when Puna was going back 
he went slowly and softly, and saw his wife as 
a dragon, and understood the words of Hinole. 
He tried to hide, but was trembling and 
breathing hard. 

His wife heard and quickly changed to a human 
body, and cursed him, saying: “You are an evil 
man coming quietly and hiding, but I heard 
your breath when you thought I would not know 
you. Perhaps I will eat your eyes. When you 
were talking with Hinole you learned how to 
come and see me.” 

The dragon-goddess was very angry, but 
Puna did not say anything. She was so angry 
that the hair on her neck rose up, but it was like 
a whirlwind, soon quiet and the anger over. 
They dwelt together, and the woman trusted 
Puna, and they had peace. 

One day Puna was breathing hard, for he was 
thirsty and wanted the water of the gods. 

The woman heard his breathing, and asked, 
“Why do you breathe like this?” He said: “I 
want water. We have dwelt together a long 
time and now I need the water.” “What water 
is this you want?” He said, “I must have the 
water of Poliahu of Mauna Kea, the snow- 
covered mountain of Hawaii.” 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


156 

She said, “Why do you want that water?” 
He said: “The water of that place is cold and 
heavy with ice. In my youth my good grand¬ 
parents always brought water from that place 
for me. Wherever I went I carried that water 
with me, and when it was gone more would be 
brought to me, and so it has been up to the time 
that I came to dwell with you. You have water 
and I have been drinking it, but it is not the same 
as the water mixed with ice, and heavy. But 
I would not send you after it, because I know it 
is far away and attended with toil unfit for you, 
a woman.” 

The woman bent her head down, then lifted 
her eyes, and said: “Your desire for water is not 
a hard thing to satisfy. I will go and get the 
water.” 

Before he had spoken of his desire he had 
made a little hole in the water-jar, as Hinole had 
told him, that the woman might spend a long 
time and let him escape. 

She arose and went away. He also arose and 
followed. He found a canoe and crossed to 
Maui. Then he found another boat going to 
Hawaii and at last landed at Kau. 

He went up and stood on the edge of the pit 
of Pele. Those who were living in the crater 
saw him, and cried out, “Here is a man, a hus¬ 
band for our sister.” He quickly went down 


PUNA AND THE DRAGON 


*57 


into the crater and dwelt with them. He told 
all about his journey. Pele heard these words, 
and said: “Not very long and your wife will be 
here coming after you, and there will be a great 
battle, but we will not let you go or you will be 
killed, because she is very angry against you. 
She has held you, the husband of our sister 
Haumea. She should find her own husband and 
not take what belongs to another. You stay 
with us and at the right time you can go back 
to your wife.” 

Kiha-wahine went to Poliahu, but could not 
fill the water-jar. She poured the water in and 
filled the jar, but when the jar was lifted it 
became light. She looked back and saw the 
water lying on the ground, and her husband far 
beyond at the pit of Pele. Then she became 
angry and called all the dragons of Molokai, 
Lanai, Maui, Kahoolawe, and Hawaii. 

When she had gathered all the dragons she 
went up to Kilauea and stood on the edge of 
the crater and called all the people below, telling 
them to give her the husband. They refused 
to give Puna up, crying out: “Where is your 
husband? This is the husband of our sister; he 
does not belong to you, O mischief-maker.” 

Then the dragon-goddess said, “If you do not 
give up this man, of a truth I will send quickly 
all my people and fill up this crater and capture 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


158 

all your fires.” The dragons threw their drool¬ 
ing saliva in the pit, and almost destroyed the 
fire of the pit where Pele lived, leaving Ka-moho- 
alii’s place untouched. 

Then the fire moved and began to rise with 
great strength, burning off all the saliva of the 
dragons. Kiha-wahine and the rest of the 
dragons could not stand the heat even a little 
while, for the fire caught them and killed a large 
part of them in that place. They tried to hide 
in the clefts of the rocks. The earthquakes 
opened the rocks and some of the dragons hid, 
but fire followed the earthquakes and the fleeing 
dragons. Kiha-wahine ran and leaped down the 
precipice into a fish-pond called by the name of 
the shadow, or aka, of the dragon, Loko-aka 
(the shadow lake). 

So she was imprisoned in the pond, husband¬ 
less, scarcely escaping with her life. When she 
went back to Molokai she meant to kill Hinole, 
because she was very angry for his act in aiding 
Puna to escape. She wanted to punish him, 
but Hinole saw the trouble coming from his 
sister, so arose and leaped into the sea, becoming 
a fish in the ocean. 

When he dove into the sea Kiha-wahine went 
down after him and tried to find him in the small 
and large coral caves, but could not catch him. 
He became the Hinalea, a fish dearly loved by 


PUNA AND THE DRAGON 


159 


the fishermen of the islands. The dragon-goddess 
continued seeking, swimming swiftly from place 
to place. 

Ounauna saw her passing back and forth, and 
said, “What are you seeking, 0 Kiha-wahine?” 
She said, “I want Hinole.” Ounauna said: 
“Unless you listen to me you cannot get him, 
just as when you went to Hawaii you could not 
get your husband from Pele. You go and get 
the vine inalua and come back and make a 
basket and put it down in the sea. After a while 
dive down and you will find that man has come 
inside. Then catch him.” 

The woman took the vine, made the basket, 
came down and put it in the sea. She left it 
there a little while, then dove down. There was 
no Hinole in the basket, but she saw him swim¬ 
ming along outside of the basket. She went up, 
waited awhile, came down again and saw him 
still swimming outside. This she did again and 
again, until her eyes were red because she could 
not catch him. Then she was angry, and went 
to Ounauna and said: “O slave, I will kill you 
to-day. Perhaps you told the truth, but I 
have been deceived, and will chase you until 
you die.” 

Ounauna said: “Perhaps we should talk before 
I die. I want you to tell me just what you have 
done, then I will know whether you followed 


i6o 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


directions. Tell me in a few words. Perhaps 
I forgot something.” 

The dragon said, “I am tired of your words 
and I will kill you.” Then Ounauna said, 
“Suppose I die, what will you do to correct any 
mistakes you have made?” 

Then she told how she had taken vines and 
made a basket and used it. Ounauna said: “I 
forgot to tell you that you must get some sea 
eggs and crabs, pound and mix them together 
and put them inside the basket. Put the mouth 
of the basket down. Leave it for a little while, 
then dive down and find your brother inside. 
He will not come out, and you can catch 
him.” This is the way the Hinalea is caught to 
this day. 

After she had caught her brother she took him 
to the shore to kill him, but he persuaded her 
to set him free. This she did, compelling him 
ever after to retain the form of the fish Hinalea. 

Kiha-wahine then went to the island Maui 
and dwelt in a deep pool near the old royal town 
of Lahaina. 

After Pele had her battle with the dragons, and 
Puna had escaped according to the directions of 
Hinole, he returned to Oahu and saw his wife, 
Haumea, a woman with many names, as if she 
were the embodiment of many goddesses. 

After Puna disappeared, Kou became the new 



BREADFRUIT-TREES 




































































































































































PUNA AND THE DRAGON 161 

chief of Oahu. Puna went to live in the moun¬ 
tains above Kalihi-uka. One day Haumea went 
out fishing for crabs at Heeia, below the precipice 
of Koolau, where she was accustomed to go. 
Puna came to a banana plantation, ate, and lay 
down to rest. He fell fast asleep and the watch¬ 
men of the new chief found him. They took his 
loin-cloth, and tied his hands behind his back, 
bringing him thus to Kou, who killed him and 
hung the body in the branches of a breadfruit- 
tree. It is said that this was at Wai-kaha-lulu 
just below the steep diving rocks of the Nuuanu 
stream. 

When Haumea returned from gathering moss 
and fish to her home in Kalihi-uka, she heard of 
the death of her husband. She had taken an 
akala vine, made a pa-u, or skirt, of it, and tied 
it around her when she went fishing, but she for¬ 
got all about it, and as she hurried down to see 
the body of her husband, all the people turned 
to look at her, and shouted out, “This is the wife 
of the dead man.” 

She found Puna hanging on the branches. 
Then she made that breadfruit-tree open. Leav¬ 
ing her pa-u on the ground where she stood, she 
stepped inside the tree and bade it close about 
her and appear the same as before. The akala, 
of which the pa-u had been made, lay where it 
was left, took root and grew into a large vine. 


i 62 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


The fat of the body of Puna fell down through 
the branches and the dogs ate below the tree. 
One of these dogs belonged to the chief Kou. 
It came back to the house, played with the chief, 
then leaped, caught him by the throat and killed 
him. 

Note. —This is the same legend as “The Wonderful 
Breadfruit Tree” published in the “Legends of Old 
Honolulu,” but the names are changed and the time is 
altered from the earliest days of Hawaiian lore to the 
almost historic period of King Kakuhihewa, whose under- 
chief mentioned in this legend gave the name to Old 
Honolulu, as for centuries it bore the name “Kou.” The 
legend is new, however, in so far as it gives the account 
of the infatuation of Puna for Kiha-wahine, the dragon- 
goddess, and his final escape from her. 



KE-AU-NIN1 


163 


XVII 

KE-AU-NINI 



U-AHA-ILO was a demon who had no 
parents. His great effort was to find 
something to eat—men or any other 
kind of food. He was a kupua—one who was 
sometimes an animal and sometimes a man. He 
was said to be the father of Pele, the goddess of 
volcanic fires. 

Nakula-uka and Nakula-kai were the parents 
of Hiilei, who was the mother of Ke-au-nini. 
Nakula-kai told her husband that she was with 
child. He told her that he was glad, and if it 
were a boy he would name him, but if a girl she 
should name the child. 

The husband went out fishing, and Nakula-kai 
went to see her parents, Kahuli and Kakela. 
The hot sun was rising, so she put leaves over 
her head and came to the house. Her father 
was asleep. She told her mother about her 
condition. Kahuli awoke and turning over 
shook the land by his motion, i.e. y the far-away 
divine land of Nuu-mea-lani. He asked his 
daughter why she had come, and when she told 
him he studied the signs and foretold the birth 
of a girl who should be named Hina. 







164 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


Kahuli’s wife questioned his knowledge. He 
said: “I will prepare awa in a cup, cover it with 
white kapa, and chant a prayer. I will lift the 
cover, and if the awa is still there I am at fault. 
If the awa has disappeared I am correct. It will 
be proved by the awa disappearing that a girl 
will be born. 

“ I was up above Niihau. 

O Ku! O Kane! O Lono! 

I have dug a hole, 

Planted the bamboo; 

The bamboo has grown; 

Find that bamboo! 

It has grown old. 

The green-barked bamboo has a green bark; 

The white-barked bamboo has a white bark. 

Fragments of rain are stinging the skin— 

Rain fell that day in storms, 

Water pouring in streams. 

Mohoalii is by the island, 

Island cut off at birth from the mainland; 

Many islands as children were bom.” 

A girl was born, and the grandparents kept the 
child, calling her Hina. She cried, and the grand¬ 
mother took her in her arms and sang: 

“Fishing, fishing, your father is fishing, 

Catching the opoa-pea.” 

Nakula-kai went down to her home. Her hus¬ 
band returned from fishing. He said he thought 
another child was born. He had heard the 
thunder, but no storm. She told him that a 
boy was born. Nakula-uka named that boy 
Ke-au-miki (stormy or choppy current). Ten 


KE-AU-NIN1 


165 

days afterward another boy was born. He was 
named Ke-au-kai (current toward the beach). 

These children had no food but awa. Their 
hair was not cut. They were taken inside a 
tabu temple and brought up. Nakula-uka and 
his wife after a long time had another girl named 
Hiilei (lifted like a lei on the head). The grand¬ 
parents took the child. She was very beautiful 
and was kept tabu. Her husband should be 
either a king or a male kupua of very high birth. 
When she had grown up she heard noises below 
her woodland home several times, and she was 
very curious. She was told, “That comes from 
the surf-riding.” 

Hiilei wanted to go down and see. The 
grandmother said, “Do not go, for it would mean 
your death.” Once more came the noise, and 
she was told it was “spear-throwing.” The girl 
wanted to know how that was done. The grand¬ 
parents warned her that there was great danger, 
saying: “The path is full of trouble. Dragons 
lie beside the way. Ku-aha-ilo, the mo-o 
[dragon], is travelling through the sky, the 
clouds, the earth, and the forest. His tongue is 
thrusting every way to find food. He is almost 
starved, and now plans to assume his human 
form and come to Nuu-mea-lani, seeking to find 
some one for food. You should not go down to 
the beach of Honua-lewa [the field of sports].” 


i66 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


But Hiilei was very persistent, so the grand¬ 
mother at last gave permission, saying: “I will 
let you go, but here are my commands. You are 
quite determined to go down, but listen to me. 
Ku-aha-ilo is very hungry, and is seeking food 
these days. When you go down to the grove of 
kukui-trees, there Ku-aha-ilo will await you and 
you will be afraid that he will catch you. Do not 
be afraid. Pass that place bravely. Go on the 
lower side—the valley-side—and you cannot be 
touched. When that one sees you he will change 
into his god-body and stand as a mo-o. Do 
not show that you are afraid. He cannot touch 
you unless you are afraid and flee. Keep your 
fear inside and give ‘Aloha’ and say, ‘You are a 
strangely beautiful one.’ The dragon will think 
you are not afraid. Then that mo-o will take 
another body. He will become a great cater¬ 
pillar. Caterpillars will surround you. You 
must give ‘Aloha’ and praise. Thus you must 
do with all the mysterious bodies of Ku-aha-ilo 
without showing any fear. Then Ku-aha-ilo 
will become a man and will be your husband.” 

So the girl went down, dressed gorgeously by 
the grandmother in a skirt of rainbow colors, 
flowers of abundant perfumes—nothing about 
her at fault. 

She came to the kukui grove and looked all 
around, seeing nothing, but passing further along 






























































KE-AU-NINI 


167 


she saw a mist rising. A strong wind was com¬ 
ing. The sun was hot in the sky, making her 
cheeks red like lehua flowers. She went up 
some high places looking down on the sea. Then 
she heard footsteps behind her. She looked 
back and saw a strange body following. She 
became afraid and trembled, but she remembered 
the words of her grandmother, and turned and 
said, “Aloha,” and the strange thing went away. 
She went on and again heard a noise and looked 
back. A whirlwind was coming swiftly after 
her. Then there was thunder and lightning. 

Hiilei said: “Aloha. Why do you try to make 
me afraid? Come in your right body, for I know 
that you are a real man.” 

Everything passed away. She went on again, 
but after a few steps she felt an earthquake. 
Afraid, she sat down. She saw a great thing 
rising like a cloud twisting and shutting out the 
sun, moving and writhing—a great white piece 
of earth in front of a whirlwind. 

She was terribly frightened and fell flat on the 
ground as if dead. Then she heard the spirit 
of her grandmother calling to her to send away 
her fear, saying: “This is the one of whom I told 
you. Don’t be afraid.” She looked at the cloud, 
and the white thing became omaomao (green). 
Resolutely she stood up, shook her rainbow 
skirt and flowers. The perfumes were scattered 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


168 

in the air and she started on. Then the dragons, 
a multitude, surrounded her, climbing upon her 
to throw her down. Her skin was creeping, but 
she remembered her grandmother and said: 
“Alas, O most beautiful ones, this is the first 
time I have ever seen you. If my grandmother 
were here we would take you back to our home 
and entertain you, and you should be my play¬ 
mates. But I cannot return, so I must say 
‘Farewell.’” 

Then the dragons disappeared and the cater¬ 
pillars came into view after she had gone on a 
little way. The caterpillars’ eyes were protrud¬ 
ing as they rose up and came against her, but 
she said, “Aloha.” 

Then she saw another form of Ku-aha-ilo—a 
stream of blood flowing like running water. She 
was more frightened than at any other time, and 
cried to her grandfather: “E Kahuli, I am 
afraid! Save my life, O my grandfather!” He 
did not know she had gone down. He told his 
wife that he saw Ku-aha-ilo surrounding some¬ 
one on the path. He went into his temple and 
prayed: 

“Bom is the night, 

Bom is the morning, 

Bom is the thunder, 

Bom is the lightning, 

Bom is the heavy rain, 

Bom is the rain which calls us; 

The clouds of the sky gather.” 


KE-A U-NINI 


169 


Then Kahuli twisted his kapa clothes full of 
lightning and threw them into the sky. A fierce 
and heavy rain began to fall. Streams of water 
rushed toward the place where Hiilei stood fight¬ 
ing with that stream of blood in which the dragon 
was floating. The blood was all washed away 
and the dragon became powerless. 

Ku-aha-ilo saw that he had failed in all these 
attempts to terrify Hiilei. His eyes flashed and 
he opened his mouth. His tongue was thrusting 
viciously from side to side. His red mouth was 
like the pit of Pele. His teeth were gnashing, 
his tail lashing. 

Hiilei stood almost paralyzed by fear, but re¬ 
membered her grandmother. She felt that death 
was near when she faced this awful body of 
Ku-aha-ilo. But she hid her fear and called a 
welcome to this dragon. Then the dragon fell 
into pieces, which all became nothing. The 
fragments flew in all directions. 

While Hiilei was watching this, all the evil 
disappeared and a handsome man stood before 
her. Hiilei asked him gently, “Who are you, 
and from what place do you come?” He said, 
“I am a man of this place.” “No,” said Hiilei, 
“you are not of this land. My grandparents 
and I are the only ones. This is our land. From 
what place do you come?” He replied: “I am 
truly from the land above the earth, and I have 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


170 

come to find a wife for myself. Perhaps you will 
be my wife.” She said that she did not want a 
husband at that time. She wanted to go down 
to the sea. 

He persuaded her to marry him and then go 
down and tell her brothers that she had married 
Ku-aha-ilo. If a boy was born he must be called 
Ke-au-nini-ula-o-ka-lani (The red, restful current 
of the heavens). This would be their only child. 
He gave her signs for the boy, saying, “When 
the boy says to you, ‘Where is my father?’ you 
can tell him, ‘Here is the stick or club Kaaona 
and this malo or girdle Ku-ke-anuenue.’ He 
must take these things and start out to find me.” 
He slowly disappeared, leaving Hiilei alone. She 
went down to the sea. The people saw her 
coming, a very beautiful woman, and they 
shouted a glad welcome. 

She went out surf-riding, sported awhile, and 
then her grandfather came and took her home. 
After a time came the signs of the birth of a chief. 
Her son was born and named Ke-au-nini. This 
was in the land Kuai-he-lani. Kahuli almost 
turned over. The land was shaken and tossed. 
This was one of the divine lands from which the 
ancestors of the Hawaiians came. Pii-moi, a 
god of the sun, asked Akoa-koa, the coral, “What 
is the matter with the land? ” Akoa-koa replied, 
“There is a kupua—a being with divine powers— 


KE-AU-NINI 


171 


being born, with the gifts of Ku-aha-ilo.” Pii- 
moi was said to be below Papaku-lolo, taking care 
of the foundation of the earth. The brothers 
were in their temple. Ke-au-kai heard the signs 
in the leaves and knew that his sister had a child, 
and proposed to his brother to go over and get 
the child. The mother had left it on a pile of 
sugar-cane leaves. They met their sister and 
asked for the child. Then they took it, wrapped 
it in a soft kapa and went back to the temple. 
The temple drum sounded as they came in, 
beaten by invisible hands. 

The boy grew up. The mother after a time 
wanted to see the child, and went to the temple. 
She had to wait a little, then the boy came out 
and said he would soon come to her. She re¬ 
joiced to see such a beautiful boy as her Ke-au- 
nini-ula-o-ka-lani. They talked and rejoiced in 
their mutual affection. An uncle came and sent 
her away for a time. The boy returned to the 
temple, and his uncle told him he could soon go 
to be with his mother. Then came an evil night 
and the beating of the spirit drum. A mist 
covered the land. There was wailing among the 
menehunes (fairy folk). Ke-au-nini went away 
covered by the mist, and no one saw him go. 

He came to his grandfather’s house, saw an 
old man sleeping and a war-club by the door. He 
took this club and lifted it to strike the old man, 


172 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


but the old man caught the club. The boy 
dropped it and tried to catch the old man. The 
old man held him and asked who he was and to 
what family he belonged. The boy said: “I 
belong to Kahuli and Kakela, to Nakula-uka and 
Nakula-kai. I am the son of Ku-aha-ilo and 
Hiilei. I have been brought up by Ke-au-miki 
and Ke-au-kai. I seek my mother.” 

The old man arose, took his drum and beat it. 
Hiilei and her mother came out to meet the boy. 
They put sacrifices in their temple for him and 
chanted to their ancestor-gods: 

“O Keke-hoa-lani, dwell here; 

Here are wind and rain.” 

By and by Ke-au-nini asked his mother, “ Where 
is my father?” She told him: “You have no 
father in the lands of the earth. He belongs to 
the atmosphere above. You cannot go to find 
him. He never told me the path-way to his 
home. You had better stay with me.” He 
replied: “No I cannot stay here. I must go to 
find my father.” He was very earnest in his 
purpose. 

His mother said: “If you make a mistake, your 
father will kill you and then eat you and take 
all your lands. He will destroy the forests and 
the food plants, and all will be devoured by your 
father. His kingdom is tabu. If you go, take 
great care of the gifts, for with these things you 


KE-AU-NINI 


173 


succeed, but without them you die.” She showed 
him the war-club and the rainbow-girdle, and 
gave them into his care. The boy took the 
gifts, kissed his mother, went outside and 
looked up into the sky. 

He saw wonderful things. A long object 
passed before him, part of which was on the earth, 
but the top was lost in the clouds. This was 
Niu-loa-hiki, one of the ancestor-gods of the 
night. This was a very tall cocoanut-tree, from 
which the bark of coconuts fell in the shape 
of boats. He took one of these boats in his 
hands, saying, “How can I ride in this small 
canoe? ” 

He went down to the sea, put the bark boat in 
the water, got in and sailed away until the land 
of Nuu-mea-lani was lost. His uncle, Ke-au-kai, 
saw him going away, and prayed to the aumakuas 
(ancestral ghost-gods) to guard the boy. The 
boy heard the soft voice of the far-off surf, and 
as he listened he saw a girl floating in the surf. 
He turned his boat and joined her. She told him 
to go back, or he would be killed. She was 
Moho-nana, the first-born child of Ku-aha-ilo. 

When she learned that this was her half- 
brother, she told him that her father was sleeping. 
If he awoke, the boy would be killed. 

The boy went to the shore of this strange land. 
Ku-aha-ilo saw him coming, and breathed out 


174 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


the wind of his home against the boy. It was 
like a black whirlwind rushing to the sea. 

The boy went on toward his father’s tabu place, 
up to Kalewa, in the face of the storm. He saw 
the tail of Ku-aha-ilo sweep around against him 
to kill him. He began his chants and incanta¬ 
tions and struck his war-club on the ground. 
Lava came out and fire was burning all around 
him. He could not strike the tail, nor could the 
tail strike him. Ku-aha-ilo sent many other 
enemies, but the war-club turned them aside. 
The earth was shaking, almost turning upside 
down as it was struck by the war-club. Great 
openings let lava fires out. Ku-aha-ilo came out 
of his cave to fight. His mouth was open, his 
tongue outstretching, his eyes glaring, but the 
boy was not afraid. He took his club, whirled 
it in his hand, thinking his father would see it, 
but his father did not see it. The boy leaped 
almost inside the mouth and struck with the club 
up and down, every stroke making an opening 
for fire. 

The father tried to shut his mouth, but the 
boy leaped to one side and struck the father’s 
head. The blow glanced aside and made a great 
hole in the earth, which let out fire. The dragon 
body disappeared and came back in another form, 
as a torrent of blood. Ke-au-nini thrust it aside. 

Then a handsome man stood before him with 


KE-AU-NINI 


175 


wild eyes, demanding who he was. Ku-aha-ilo 
had forgotten his son, and the miraculous war- 
club which he had given to Hiilei, so he began to 
fight with his hands. Ke-au-nini laid his club 
down. The father was near the end of his 
strength, and said, “Let our anger cease, that we 
may know each other.” The boy was very angry 
and said: “You have treated me cruelly, when I 
only came to see you and to love you. You 
would have taken my young life for sacrifice. 
Now you tell me you belong to the temple of my 
ancestors in Nuu-mea-lani.” Then he caught 
his father and lifted him up. He tossed him, 
dizzy and worn out, into the air, and catching the 
body broke it over his knee. Ku-aha-ilo had 
killed and eaten all his people, so that no one was 
left in his land. The boy’s sister saw the battle 
and went away to Ka-lewa-lani (the divine far¬ 
away cloud-land). 

Ke-au-nini returned on his ocean journey to 
Nuu-mea-lani. The uncle saw a mist covering 
the sea and saw the sign of a chief in it, and knew 
that the boy was not dead, but had killed Ku- 
aha-ilo. The boy came and greeted them and 
told the story. He remained some time in the 
temple and dreamed of a beautiful woman. 

The brothers talked about the power of Ke-au- 
nini who had killed his father, a man without 
parents, part god and part man. They thought 


176 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


he would now kill them. Ke-au-nini became pale 
and thin and sick, desiring the woman of his 
dream. Finally he told the brothers to find that 
woman or he would kill them. 

Ke-au-kai told him that he would consult the 
gods. Then he made a red boat with a red mast 
and a red sail and told Ke-au-miki to go after 
Hiilei, their sister. 

Hiilei came down to stay with her son while 
the brothers went away to find the girl. Ke-au- 
kai (Broad sea-current) said to Ke-au-miki 
(Chopped-up current): “You sit in front, I be¬ 
hind. Let this be our law. You must not turn 
back to look at me. You must not speak to me. 
I must not speak to you, or watch you.” 

Ke-au-miki went to his place in the boat. The 
other stood with one foot in the boat and one on 
the land. He told the boy they would go. If 
they found a proper girl they would return; if 
not, they would not come back. They pushed 
the boat far out to sea by one paddle-stroke. 
Another stroke and land was out of sight. 
Swiftly leaped the boat over the ocean. 

They saw birds on the island Kaula. One 
bird flew up. Heavy winds almost upset the 
boat and filled it with water up to their chins. 
They caught the paddles, bailing-cups, and loose 
boards for seats, and held them safe. 

The wind increased like a cyclone over them. 





KE-AU-NINI 


177 


Thus in the storm they floated on the sea. Ke- 
au-nini by his sorcery saw the swamped canoe. 
He ran and told his mother. She sent him to the 
temple to utter incantations: 

“O wind, wini-wini [sharp-pointed]; 

O wind full of stinging points; 

O wind rising at Vavau, 

At Hii-ka-lani; 

Stamped upon, trodden upon by the wind. 

Niihau is the island; 

Ka-pali-kala-hale is the chief.” 

This chant of Ke-au-nini reached Ke-au-kai, and 
the wind laid aside its anger. Its strength was 
made captive and the sea became calm. 

The boat came to the surface, and they bailed 
it out and took their places. Ke-au-kai said to 
his brother: “What a wonderful one is that boy 
of ours! We must go to Niihau.” They saw 
birds, met a boat and fisherman, and found 
Niihau. When the Niihau people saw them 
coming on a wonderful surf wave, they shouted 
about the arrival of the strangers. The chief 
Ka-pali-kala-hale came down as the surf swept 
the boat inland. He took the visitors to his 
house and gave gifts of food, kapas, and many 
other things. Then they went on their way. 
When they were between Niihau and Kauai, the 
wind drove the boat back. A whirlwind threw 
water into the boat, swamping it. It was sinking 
and all the goods were floating away. 


i 7 8 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


Ke-au-nini again saw the signs of trouble 
and chanted: 

“The wind o£ Kauai comes; it touches; it strikes; 

Rising, whirling; boat filled with water; 

The boat slipping down in the sea; 

The outrigger sticks in the sand. 

Kauai is the island; 

Ka-pali-o-ka-la-lau is chief.” 

The sea became calm. The boat was righted 
and the floating goods were put in. They met 
canoes and went on a mighty surf wave up the 
sands of the beach. 

The people shouted, ‘ 1 Aloha! ’ ’ The chief ess of 
that part of Kauai was surf-riding and heard the 
people shouting welcome, so she came to land and 
found the visitors sitting on the sand, resting. 
She took them to the royal home. All the people 
of Kauai came together to meet the strangers, 
making many presents. 

The brothers found no maids sufficiently per¬ 
fect, so they crossed over to Oahu, meeting other 
trials. At last they went to Hawaii to the place 
where Haina-kolo lived, a chiefess and a kua 
(goddess). 

This was above Kawaihae. They went to 
Kohala, seeking the dream-land of Ke-au-nini, 
and then around to Waipio Valley. There they 
saw a rainbow resting over the home of a tabu 
chief, Ka-lua-hine. They landed near the door 
of the Under-world. This entrance is through a 



KE-AU-NINI 


179 


cave under water. There they saw the shadow 
of Milu, the ruler of the dead. Milu’s people 
called out, “Here are men breaking the tabu of 
the chief.” Olopana, a very high chief, heard 
the shouts while he was in the temple in the 
valley. He saw the visitors chased by the people, 
running here and there. Haina-kolo, his sister, 
was tabu. Watchmen were on the outside of 
her house. They also saw the two men and the 
people pursuing, and told Haina-kolo, and she 
ordered one of the watchmen to go out and say 
to the strangers, “Oh, run swiftly; run, run, and 
come inside this temple!” They heard and ran 
in. The people stopped on the outside of the 
wall around the house. This was a tabu drum 
place, and not a temple of safety. 

Olopana was in the heiau (temple) Pakaa- 
lana. Haina-kolo asked who they were. They 
said they were from Hawaii. She said, “No, 
you have come from the sea.” Hoo-lei-palaoa, 
one of her watchmen, called, and men came and 
caught the two strangers, taking them to Olo¬ 
pana, who was very angry because they had 
come into the temple of his sister. So he ordered 
his men to take them at once and carry them to 
a prison house to die on the morrow. He said if 
the prisoners escaped, the watchmen should die 
and their bodies be burned in the fire. Toward 
morning the two prisoners talked together and 


180 LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 

uttered incantations. Ke-au-nini saw by the 
signs that they were in some trouble and chanted 
in the ears of the watchmen: “They shall not 
die. They shall not die.” 

The watchmen reported to Olopana what they 
had heard, then returned to watch. The moon 
was rising and the two prisoners were talking. 
Ke-au-kai told his brother to look at the moon, 
saying: “This means life. The cloud passes, 
morning comes.” Ka-au-kai prayed and 
chanted. The watchmen again reported to Olo¬ 
pana, giving the words of the chant. In this 
chant the family names were given. Olopana 
said: “These are the names of my mother’s people. 
My mother is Hina. Her sister is Hiilei. Her 
brothers are Ke-au-kai and Ke-au-miki. They 
were all living at Kuai-he-lani. Hina and her 
husband Ku went away to Waipio. There she 
had her child, Haina-kolo.” 

Olopana sent messengers for Hina, who was 
like the rising moon, giving life, and for her 
husband Ku, who was at Napoopoo, asking them 
to come and look at these prisoners. They ran 
swiftly and arrived by daylight. Hina had been 
troubled all night. Messengers called: “Awake! 
Listen to the chant of the prisoners, captured 
yesterday.” And they reported the prayers of 
Ke-au-kai. Hina arose and went to the heiau 
(temple) and heard the story of her brothers, 



KE-A U-NINI 


181 


who came also with the warriors. Olopana 
heard Hina wailing with her brothers, and was 
afraid that his mother would kill him because 
he had treated his visitors so badly. The 
strangers told her they had come to find a wife 
for Ke-au-nini. They had looked at the beautiful 
women of all the islands and had found none 
except the woman at Waipio. Then they told 
about the anger of the people, the pursuit, and 
their entrance into the tabu temple. 

Hina commanded Olopana to come before 
them. He took warriors and chiefs and came 
over to the temple and stood before his parents. 
Hina pronounced judgment, saying: “This chief 
shall live because he sent for me. The chiefs and 
people who pursued shall die and be cooked in 
the oven in which they thought to place the 
strangers.” 

Ku’s warriors captured Olopana’s men and 
took them away prisoners, but Olopana was 
spared and made welcome by his uncle. And 
they all feasted together for days. Then the 
brothers prepared to go after Ke-au-nini. 

One man who heard the wailing of the brothers 
and knew of the coming of Hina went to his 
house, took his wife and children and ran by way 
of Hilo to Puna-luu. It was said this man took 
his calabash to get water at the spring Kauwila, 
and an owl picked a hole in it and let the water 


i 82 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


out. For this the owl was injured by a stone 
which was thrown at him, and he told the other 
birds. They said he was rightly punished for 
his fault. 

The brothers found their red boat, launched it, 
and bade farewell to the chief’s people and lands. 
They returned to Kuai-he-lani, like a flash of 
lightning speeding along the coast from south 
to west. The boy in the temple saw them in 
their swift boat. He told Hiilei and prepared 
for their coming. They landed, feasted, and told 
their story. Then they prepared for their jour¬ 
ney to Waipio. Their boat was pulled by fish 
in place of boatmen, and these disappeared upon 
arrival at Hawaii. Ke-au-kai went first to meet 
Olopana, who ran down to see Ke-au-nini and 
asked how he came. Ke-au-nini said, “There 
was no wandering, no murmuring, no hunger, no 
pinched faces.” 

Then they feasted while over them thunder 
and lightning played and mist covered the house. 
Awa was thrown before the spirit of the thunder 
and they established tabus. 

Olopana had trouble with his priests and 
became angry and wanted to punish them be¬ 
cause they did not know how to do their work 
so well as Ke-au-nini. They could make thun¬ 
der and lightnings and earthquakes, but Ke-au- 
nini blew toward the east and something like a 


KE-A U-NINI 


183 


man appeared in a cloud of dust; he put his right 
hand in the dust and began to make land. Olo- 
pana saw this and thought it was done by the 
kahunas (priests) and so he forgave them, think¬ 
ing they had more power than Ke-au-nini. 
Later he ordered them to be killed and cooked. 
Olopana asked Ke-au-nini, “ Which of the tabu 
houses do you wish to take as your residence?” 
Ke-au-nini replied: “My house is the lightning, 
the bloody sky, or the dark cloud hanging over 
Kuai-he-lani, down the ridge or extending cape 
Ke-au-oku, where Ku of Kauhika is, where mul¬ 
titudes of eyes bend low before the gods. The 
house of my parents—there is where I dwell. 
You have heard of that place.” 

Olopana was greatly astonished, bowed his 
head and thought for a long time, then said: “We 
will set apart our tabu days for worship, and I 
will see your tabu place—you in your place and 
I outside. When you are through your days of 
tabu you must return and we will live together.” 

Ke-au-nini raised his eyes and spoke softly to 
the clouds above him: “O my parents, this my 
brother-in-law wishes to see our dwelling-place, 
therefore call Ke-au-kai to send down our tabu 
dwelling-place.” 

Ke-au-kai was near him, and said: “We had 
very many troubles on the ocean in coming after 
the one whom you want for your wife. You 


184 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


aided us to escape; perhaps the old man in the 
skies will hear you if you call.” Then Ke-au- 
nini turned toward the east: 

“Ke-au-nini has his home, 

His home with his mother. 

Hiilei, the wife, 

She was the child of Nakula-uka, 

The first-born Kakela. 

The cheeks grow red; 

And the eyes flash fire. 

In the Lewa-lani [heavens], 

The very heart of the lightning. 

A double rainbow is high arched. 

The voice of the Kana-mu are heard. 

Calling and crying are the Kana-wa. 

[The Kana-mu and the Kana-wa were companies of little 
people, i.e., fairies.] 

I continually call to you, O little ones, 

Come here with the white feathers. 

Let feathers come here together; 

Let all the colors of the tortoise-back 
Gather and descend; 

Let all the posts stand strong; 

Braced shall be the house; 

Fasten in also the smoke-colored feathers; 

Work swiftly and complete our tabu house.” 


Then the darkness of evening came, and in the 
shadows the little people labored in the moonless 
night. Soon their work was done, the house 
finished, and a sacred drum placed inside. When 
the clear sky of the morning rested over, and the 
sun made visible the fairy home in the early 
dawn, the people cried out with wonder at the 
beautiful thing before them. There stood a 
house of glowing feathers of all colors. Posts 


KE-AU-NINI 


185 

and rafters of polished bones shone like the ivory 
teeth of the whale, tinted in the smoke of a fire. 
Softly swayed the feathered thatch in a gentle 
breeze, rustling through the surrounding coco¬ 
trees. Most beautiful it was, as in the chant of 
Lilinoe : 

“Hulei Lilinoe me Kuka-hua-ula; 

Hele Hoaheo i kai o Mokuleia.” 

“Lifted up, blown by the wind are 
The falls down to the sea of Mokuleia.” 

Ke-au-nini told his brother-in-law, “Oh, my 
brother, look upon my tabu dwelling-place as 
you wished. ” 

Olopana was very curious, and asked, “How 
many people are needed to make a house like 
this so quickly?” Ke-au-nini laughed and said, 
“You have seen my people: there are three of 
us who built this house—I, the chief, and my 
two friends.” 

He did not give the names of the little people, 
Kana-mu and Kana-wa, who were really great 
multitudes, like the menehunes who made the 
ditch at Waimea, Kauai. They were the one- 
night people. All this work was finished while 
they alone could see clearly to use their magic 
powers. 

Inside the house lay soft mats made from feath¬ 
ers of many birds, and sleeping-couches better 
than had ever been seen before. Ke-au-nini 
said to his brother-in-law: “We are now ready 


i86 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


to have the tabu of our house. My parents will 
enter with me.” 

Olopana asked his kahunas if it were right for 
the parents to stay with the chief during a tabu, 
under the law of their land. The priests con¬ 
sulted and told Olopana that this was all right. 
They had no power to forbid. The parents had 
divine power, so also the boy, both alike, and 
could dwell together without breaking tabu. 
Then they said, “If you forbid, you will be land¬ 
less.” 

Ke-au-kai and Ke-au-miki entered the house 
with their young chief. Ke-au-miki beat the 
sacred drum, announcing the tabu. They poured 
and drank awa, ate sugar-cane and chanted softly 
to the rhythm of the drum. Olopana was filled 
with jealousy because all was hidden from him. 
He did not know what a drum was. He had only 
known a time of tabu, but not the secret drum, 
and the soft chant. 

During the ten days’ tabu Ke-au-nini did not 
see his wife, but remained shut in his place. Olo¬ 
pana called for all the people to bring presents. 
When the tabu was over and the temple door 
opened, Ke-au-nini and Haina-kolo prepared for 
the marriage. 

All the people came bringing feather mats, 
food, fish, and awa, which had been growing on 
a tree. Hamakua sent food and fish; Hilo sent 


KE-A U-NINI 


187 


olona and feathers; Puna sent mats and awa 
from the trees; Kau sent kapa; Kona sent red 
kapas; Kohala sent its wonderful noted sweet 
potatoes. The young chiefess appeared before all 
the people, coming from her tabu place, and she 
saw all the fine presents, and a great coconut- 
leaf lanai (porch) prepared by her brother. She 
came there before her parents and brother. They 
were waiting for Ke-au-nini, who delayed com¬ 
ing. Olopana asked his priests: “Why does the 
young chief fail to appear? We are all ready for 
the marriage feast.” The priest said to Olopana: 
“Do you think that you can treat this man as 
one of us? He is a god on his father’s side and 
also on his mother’s. He is very high. It is 
on his mother’s side that you are related. You 
should go to him with a sacrifice. Take a black 
pig, a cup of awa, a black chicken, and a coco¬ 
nut. If we do not do these things we shall not 
know where he is staying, for he is under the 
care of the gods. Now is the right time to go 
with the offering. Go quickly. The sun is ris¬ 
ing high in the sky.” 

Olopana quickly gathered the offerings and 
went away to sacrifice before Ke-au-nini. He 
called him thus: 

“ Rise up! Let your strength look inland; 

Let your might look toward the sea; 

Let your face look upward; 

Look up to the sun over your head; 


i88 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


The strange night has passed. Awake! 

Here are the offerings,— 

Food for the gods: 

Let life come!” 

He set the pig free and it ran to the feet of 
Ke-au-nini. The chicken did the same, and the 
other offerings were laid before the door. Olo- 
pana went back. Ke-au-nini and his uncles 
awoke. He said to them: “Now the tabu is 
lifted. Now the hour of the marriage has come. 
We must prepare to go down to the sea. We 
shall see the sports of this land. Soon we shall 
meet the priests and the people.” 

They arose and opened their bundles of kapa, 
very fine and soft for red malos (girdles) for the 
uncles. Ke-au-nini put on his malo, called 
Ke-kea-awe-awe-ula (the red girdle with long 
ends, shaded in the tints of the rainbow) and 
his red feather cloak and his red feather helmet, 
nodding like a bird. His skin, polished and 
perfumed, shone resplendently. He was most 
gorgeous in his appearance. 

When he went out of his house, thatched with 
bird feathers and built of polished bones, dark¬ 
ness spread over the sky. The voices of the 
little fairies, the Kana-mu and Kana-wa were 
heard. The people in the great coconut lanai 
were filled with wonder, for they had never seen 
darkness come in this way. It was like the sun 
eclipsed. When Ke-au-nini and his companions 




A YOUNG CHIEF OF HAWAII 











KE-AU-NINI 


189 


entered the lanai, the darkness passed away and 
all the people saw them in their splendor. The 
chiefs opened a way for the three. Ke-au-miki 
came in first and the people thought he was the 
husband, but when Ke-au-kai came they said, 
“This one is more beautiful,” and when Ke-au- 
nini passed before them they fell on their faces, 
although he had a gauze kapa thrown over him. 
He passed on between rows of chiefs to the 
place of marriage. His uncles stepped aside, and 
then he threw off his thin kapa and the people 
shouted again and again until the echoes shook 
the precipices around the valley. 

Then Haina-kolo came out of her house near 
by and was guided to the side of her husband. 
As she saw him her heart melted and flowed to 
him like the mingling of floating sea-mosses. 
Olopana arose and said: “O chiefs and people, 
I have been asked to come here to the marriage 
of my sister with one whom she has met in dreams 
and loved. I agree to this wedding. Our par¬ 
ents approve, and the gods have given their signs. 
Our chief ess shall belong to the stranger. You 
shall obey him. I will do as he may direct. 
They shall now become husband and wife.” 

The people shouted again and again, saying, 
“This is the husband of our chief ess.” Then 
began the hookupu. Six districts brought six 
piles of offerings. There were treasures and 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


190 

treasures of all kinds. Then came the wonder¬ 
ful feast of all the people. 

The fish companions of Ke-au-nini, who had 
drawn his boat from Kuai-he-lani, wanted Haina- 
kolo for themselves. While they were at the 
feast they found they could not get her, and they 
grew cold and ashamed and angry. Soon they 
broke away from the feast. Moi and Uhu ran 
away to the sea and returned to their homes. 
Niu-loa-hiki (a great eel) looked at Ke-au-nini 
and said: “You are very strange. I thought 
I should have my reward this day, but the win¬ 
ning has come to you. I am angry, because you 
are my servant. It is a shame for the chiefs of 
Hawaii to let you become their ruler.” His 
angry eyes flashed fire, he opened his mouth and 
started to cry out again, but the people saw him 
and shouted: “Look, look, there is an eel that 
comes to the land. He runs and dives into the 
sea. This eel, Niu-loa-hiki, is more evil than 
any other of all the family of eels.” 

Then all the fish ran off angry at this failure 
and gathered in the sea for consultation. Uhu 
said he would return at once to Makapuu. He 
was the Uhu who had the great battle with 
Kawelo when he was caught in a net. Moi went 
to the rough water outside the harbor. Kumu- 
nuiaiake went to Hilo. He was the huge fish 
with which Limaloa had a great battle when he 


KE-A U-NINI 


igi 

came to visit Hawaii. He was killed by Limaloa. 
Hou and Awela went wherever they could find 
a ditch to swim in. 

The people feasted on the mullet of Lolakea 
and the baked dogs of Hilo and the humpbacked 
mullet of Waiakea and all the sweet things of 
Hawaii. Then the sports commenced and there 
was surf-riding, dancing, wrestling, and boxing. 

Kawelo-hea, the surf-rider of Kawa in Oahu, 
was the best surf-rider. Hina-kahua, the child 
of the battling-places of Kohala, was the best 
boxer. Pilau-hulu, the noted boy of Olaa, was 
the best puhenehene-player. Lilinoe was the 
best konane-player. Luu-kia was the best kilu- 
player. She was a relative of Haina-kolo. 

When the sports were over they returned to 
the chief’s house and slept. Haina-kolo was one 
who did not closely adhere to the tabu. She ate 
the tabu things, which were sacred, belonging to 
the gods, such as bananas and luau. Ke-au-nini 
had always carefully, from his birth to marriage- 
day, observed the tabu, but, following the exam¬ 
ple of his wife, soon laid aside his carefulness, and 
lived in full disregard of all restraint for a time. 

Then Ke-au-nini left Haina-kolo and returned 
to Kuai-he-lani because dissensions arose be¬ 
tween them on account of their wrong-doing. 

He did not tell his wife or friends, or even his 
uncles, but he took his coconut-boat to go back 


192 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


to his home secretly. When he was far out in 
the ocean his sister saw him from her home in 
Lewa-lani (the blue sky). She sent Kana-ula, 
her watchman, to go out and guard him and bring 
him to her. Kana-ula was a strong wind blowing 
with the black clouds which rise before a storm. 

In a little while the watchman saw Ke-au-nini 
off Kohala, and by his great strength lifted Ke- 
au-nini and placed him on Kuai-he-lani, where he 
saw his mother and relatives. Then he went up 
to Lewa-lani to his sister and dwelt with her to 
forget his love for Haina-kolo. 

Haina-kolo had a great love for her husband, 
never making any trouble before they separated. 
Her love for him was burning and full of passion, 
while she grieved over his disappearance. She 
soon had a child. The priests living in the heiau 
(temple), Pakaalana, beat their drums, and all 
Waipio knew that a chief was born. 

Haina-kolo began to go about like one crazed, 
longing to see the eyes of her husband. She took 
her child and launched out in the ocean. The 
boat in which she placed the child was the long 
husk of a coconut. She held fast to this and 
swam and floated by its side. When they had 
gone far out in the sea a great wind swept over 
them and upon them, driving them far out of 
sight of all land. She looked only for death. 
This wind was Kana-ula, and had been sent by 


KE-AU-NINI 


193 


Moho, who was very angry at the girl for vio¬ 
lating the tabu of the gods and eating the things 
set apart for the gods. This wind was to blow 
her far away on the ocean until death came. 

When Haina-kolo had been blown a little way 
she prayed and moved her feet, turning toward 
the place where she had rejoiced with her hus¬ 
band. Then she offered another prayer and 
began to swim, but was driven out of sight of 
land. The wind ceased, its anger passed away, 
and a new land appeared. She swam toward 
this new land. Lei-makani, the child, saw this 
land, which was the high place of Ke-ao-lewa, 
and chanted: 

“ Destroy the first kou * grove; 

Destroy the second kou grove; 

Open a wonderful door in the evening; 

Offer your worship. 

Return, return, O bird!” 

The mother said: “No, my child, that is not a 
bird. Oh, my child, that is Ke-ao-lewa, the 
land where we shall find a shore.” 

But she went on patiently, swimming by the 
capes of Kohala, and came near to the places of 
noted surf and was almost on the land. Moho 
saw her still swimming and sent another wind- 
servant, Makani-kona, the south wind, to drive 
her again out in the ocean. This south wind 
came like a whirlwind, sweeping and twisting 

* Cordia subcordata. 


194 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


over the waves, sending Haina-kolo far out in 
the tossing sea. He thought he had killed her, 
so he went back to Moho. 

Moho asked him about his journey over the 
seas. He replied, “You sent me to kill, and that 
I did.” She was satisfied and ceased her vigi¬ 
lance. Tired and suffering, Haina-kolo and her 
child floated far out in the ocean, too weary to 
swim. Then Lei-makani saw Ke-ao-lewa again 
lifted up and spread out like the wings of a float¬ 
ing bird. Help came to her in a great shark, 
Kau-naha-ili-pakapaka (Kau-naha, with a rough 
skin), belonging to the family of Pii-moi, one of 
the relatives of Ku, who swam up to her and 
carried her and the child until he was tired. 
Haina-kolo was rested and warmed by the sun. 
She saw that her shark friend was growing weak, 
so she called to the sun, “O sun, go on your way 
to the land of Ka-lewa-nuu, and tell Ke-au-nini 
that we are here at the cape of Ka-ia.” 

The sun did not hear the cry from the sea. 
She called again, using the same words. The sun 
heard this call of Haina-kolo and went on to the 
place where Ke-au-nini was staying and called 
to him, “O Ke-au-nini, your wife is near the 
cape of Ka-ia.” 

Moho heard the call. She was playing konane 
with her brother. She made a noise to confuse 
the words of the sun, and said to her brother, 


KE-AU-NINI 


195 


“0 ke ku kela, o ka holo keia. Niole ka luna, 
kopala ka ele, na ke kea ka ai.” “Take this one 
up. Let that one move. Take that up slowly. 
The black is blotted out, the white wins.” 

Then the sun called again, saying the same 
words, and Ke-au-nini heard, leaped up and left 
his sister, and went down to Kuai-he-lani and 
entered the temple, where he was accustomed to 
sleep, and fell as one dead. While he was reclin¬ 
ing, his spirit left his body and went down to 
Milu and stayed there a long time. 

Haina-kolo was very near the land in the 
afternoon. Soon they came to the beach. There 
she dug a little hole for her child and laid him in 
his little boat in it and went up the path like a 
crazy person to the top of the high precipices of 
Ka-hula-anu (the cold dancing) and began to 
eat fruit growing on the trees. She clothed her¬ 
self in leaves, then rushed into the forest. 

Lei-makani was still floating where his mother 
had left him, near a place where the servants of 
Luu-kia went fishing every morning to get the 
food loved by the chiefs. Two men, Ka-holo- 
holo-uka and Ka-holo-holo-kai, had come down 
for Luu-kia, carrying a net. They threw their 
net over the water and the child floated into it. 
They thought they had a great fish. They 
carried the net up on the beach and found the 
boy. It was a little dark, and hard to see what 


196 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


they were catching. One called to the other, 
“What have we caught this morning?” The 
other said: “I thought we had a great fish, but 
this is a child. I will take this child to my 
home.” The other said, “No—This is a fish.” 
So they had a quarrel until the sun rose. Then 
they went up to the village. 

Ka-holo-holo-uka told his wife, “We have a 
child.” Then he told her how they had caught 
Lei-makani. They talked loudly. This chiefess 
heard their noisy clamor and asked her servant, 
“What’s the trouble with these noisy ones?” 
They told her and she wanted that child brought 
to her, and commanded Maile-lau-lii (Small leaf 
made) to go and get it. He took it to Luu-kia, 
who marked its wonderful beauty. She sent 
for the fishermen to tell her how they got the 
child. They told her about the fishing. 

She wanted to know who were the parents. 
They said: “We do not know. This may be the 
child of Haina-kolo, for we know she has dis¬ 
appeared with her child. She may be dead and 
this may be her boy.” 

Luu-kia said, “You two take the child, and I 
will give the name, Lopa-iki-hele-wale [Going 
without anything]. Then you care for it until 
it grows up.” 

They took the child to the land of Opaeloa, as 
a good place to bring it up. The fishermen said 


KE-AU-NINI 


197 


to Luu-kia, “Will you provide food, fish, and 
clothing? ” She said, “Yes.” They thought the 
child would not understand, but it knew all these 
words. The fisherman and his wife took the 
child away. Waipio Valley people were sur¬ 
rounded by precipices, but the gods of Waipio 
watched all the troubles by sending messengers 
to go over to the upland and follow Haina- 
kolo. 

Ku and Hina and Olopana were burdened by 
the loss of Haina-kolo and Lei-makani, so they 
went to the temple at Pakaalana, where the 
uncles of Ke-au-nini were staying. There they 
consulted the gods with signs and sorceries. 

They sent Ke-au-miki to get some little 
stones at Kea-au, a place near Haena. His 
brother said: “Get thirteen stones—seven white 
and six black. Make them fast in a bundle, so 
they cannot be lost, then come back by Pana-ewa 
and get awa which man did not plant, but which 
was carried by the birds to the trees and planted 
there. Then return this evening and we will 
study the signs.” Ke-au-miki went up the pali 
(precipice) and hastened along the top running 
and leaping and flying over Hamakua to Hilo. 

The Hilo palis were nothing to this man as 
he sped swiftly over the gulches until he came 
to the Wailuku River guarded by the kupua 
Pili-a-mo-o, who concealed the path so that none 


198 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


could find it until a price was paid. The dragon 
covered the path with its rough skin. 

Ke-au-miki stood looking for a path, but could 
only see what seemed to be pahoehoe lava. The 
tail of the dragon was like a kukui-tree-trunk 
lying in the water. He saw the tail switching 
and rising up to strike him. Then he knew that 
this was a kupua. The tail almost struck him 
on the head. He called to Kahuli in Kuai-he-lani, 
who sent a mighty wind and hurled aside the 
waters, caught up the body of the dragon and 
let it fall, smashing it on the rocks, breaking the 
beds of lava. 

Then Ke-au-miki rushed over the river and up 
the precipices, speeding along to Pa-ai-ie, where 
the long ohia point of Pana-ewa is found, then 
turned toward the sea and went to Haena, to 
the place where the little stones aala-manu are 
found. He picked up the stones and ran to 
Pana-ewa and got the awa hanging on the tree, 
tied up the awa and stones and hurried back. 
He crossed the gulch at Konolii and met a man, 
Lolo-ka-eha, who tried to take the awa away 
from him. He was a robber. When they came 
face to face, Ke-au-miki caught the man with 
his hand, hurled him over the precipice and killed 
him. When he saw that this man was dead, he 
ran as swiftly as the wind until he met a very 
beautiful woman, Wai-puna-lei. She saw him 



THE HOME OF THE DRAGONS NEAR HILO 







KE-AU-NINI 


199 


and asked him to be her husband, but he would 
not stop. He crossed Hilo boundaries to Hama- 
kua, to the place where the trees used for kapa 
were growing, as the sun was going down over 
the palis. He came to the temple door and laid 
down his burden. 

Then Ke-au-kai said: “This is my word to all 
the people: Prepare the awa while I take the 
little stones, pour awa into a cup: I will cover it 
up and we will watch the signs. If, while I 
chant, the bubbles on the awa come to the left 
side, we will find Haina-kolo. If they go to the 
right, she is fully lost. Let all the people keep 
silence; no noise, no running about, no sleep¬ 
ing. Watch all the signs and the clouds in the 
heavens.” 

Then he chanted: 

“O Ku and Kane and Kanaloa, 

Let the magic power come. 

Amama ua noa. 

Tabu is lifted from 
My bird-catching place for food. 

You are a stranger, I am a resident. 

Let the friend be taken care of. 

United is the earth of the tabu woman. Amama.” 


The bubbles stood on the right side, and the 
priest said, “We shall never find Haina-kolo; 
the gods have gone away.” Olopana said: “I 
am much troubled for my brother and sister, and 
that child I wanted for the chief of this land. I 


200 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


do not understand why these things have come 
to us.” 

All the people were silent, weeping softly, but 
Ke-au-kai and his brother were not troubled, for 
they knew their chief and wife were in the care 
of the aumakuas. 

When Lei-makani had grown up, Luu-kia took 
him as her husband. He went surf-riding daily. 
She was very jealous of Maile, who would often 
go surf-riding with him. Lei-makani did not 
care for her, for he knew she was a sister of his 
mother although she had a child by him. One 
day, when he went with Maile, Luu-kia was 
angry and caught that child and killed it by 
dashing it against a stone. 

The servants went down to the beach, waiting 
for Lei-makani to come to land. Then they told 
him about the death of his child and their fear 
for him if he went up to the house with Maile. 
Lei-makani left his surf-board and went to the 
house weeping, and found the child’s body by 
the stone. He took a piece of kapa and wrapped 
it up, carrying the broken body down to a foun¬ 
tain, where he cleansed it and offered chants and 
incantations until the child became alive. His 
mother, Haina-kolo, heard the following chants 
and came to her son, for the voice was carried to 
her by kupuas who had magic powers. The 
child’s name was Lono-kai. He wrapped it again 


KE-A U-NINI 


201 


in soft warm kapas and chanted while he washed 
the child, naming the fountain Kama-ahala (a 
child has passed away): 

“ Kama-ahala smells of the blood; 

The sick smell of the blood rises. 

Washed away in the earth is the blood; 

Hard is the red blood 

Warmed by the heat of the heavens, 

Laid out under the shining sky. 

Lono-kai-o-lohia is dead.” 

Then the voice of the child was heard in a low 
moan from the bundle, saying, “Lono-kai-o- 
lohia [Lono possessed of the Ala spirit] is alive.” 
The father heard the voice and softly uttered 
another chant: 

“In the silence 

Has been heard the gods of the night; 

What is this wailing over us? 

Wailing for the death of 

Lono, the spirit of the sea—dead!” 

The voice came again from the kapas, “Lono, 
the spirit of the sea, is alive.” Lei-makani’s 
love for his child was overflowing, and again he 
uttered an incantation to his own parents: 

“O Ku, the father! 

O Hina, the mother! 

Olopana was the first-born; 

Haina-kolo, the sister, was born: 

Haina-kolo and Ke-au-nini were the parents: 

Lei-makani was the child: 

I am Lei-makani, the child of Haina-kolo, 

The sacred woman of Waipio’s precipices; 

My mother is living among the ripe halas;* 


* Pandanus adoratissimus. 


202 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


For us was the fruit of the uhi; 

I was found by the fisherman; 

I am the child of the pali hula-anu; 

I was cared for by one of my family 
Inland at Opaeloa; 

They gave me the name Lopa-iki-hele-wale 
[Little lazy fellow having nothingl; 

But I am Lei-makani—you shall hear it.” 


His heart was heavy with longing for his 
mother, and the gods of the wind, the wind 
brothers, took his plaintive love-chant to the 
ears of Haina-kolo, who had wandered in her 
insanity, but was now free from her craze and 
had become herself. She followed that voice 
over the precipices and valleys to the top of a 
precipice. Standing there and looking down she 
saw her child and grandchild below, and she 
chanted: 


“Thy voice I have heard 
Softly echoed by the pali, 

Wailing against the pali; 

Thy voice, my child beloved; 

My child, indeed; 

My child, when the cloud hung over 
And the rainbow light was above us, 
That day when we floated together 
When the sea was breaking my heart; 
My child of the cape of Ka-ia, 

When the sun was hanging above us. 
Where have I been? 

Tell Ke-au-nini-ula-o-ka-lani; 

I was in the midst of the sea 
With the child of our love; 

My child, my little child, 

Where are you? Oh, come back!” 


KE-A U-NINI 


203 


Then she went down the precipice and met 
her son holding his child in his arms, and wailed: 

“ My lord from the fogs of the inland, 

From the precipices fighting the wind, 

Striking down along the ridges; 

My child, with the voice of a bird, 

Echoed by the precipice of Pakohi, 

Shaking and dancing on inaccessible places, 

Laughing out on the broken waters 
Where we were floating in danger; 

There I loved dearly your voice 

Fighting with waves 

While the fierce storm was above us 

Seen by your many gods 

Who dwell in the shining sky— 

Auwe for us both! ” 

They waited a little while, until the time when 
Lono-kai became strong again. Then they went 
up to the village. 

Haina-kolo had run into the forest, her wet 
pa-u torn off, no clothing left. Her long hair 
was her cloak, clothing her from head to foot. 
She wandered until cold, then dressed herself 
with leaves. As her right senses returned she 
made warm garments of leaves and ate fruits of 
the forest. When they came to the village they 
met the people who knew Haina-kolo. She 
dwelt there until Lono-kai grew up. He and 
his father looked like twins, having great resem¬ 
blance, people told them, to Ke-au-nini. The boy 
asked, “Where is my grandfather, Ke-au-nini? ,, 
Lei-makani said: “I never saw your grandfather. 
He was very tabu and sacred. He killed his own 


204 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


father, Ku-aha-ilo, god of the heavens. I know 
by my mana [spirit power] that he is with the 
daughters of Milu.” The boy said: “I must go 
and find him. I will go in my spirit body, leav¬ 
ing this human body. You must not forbid the 
journey.” Ke-au-kai, the priest, said: “You can¬ 
not find him unless you learn what to do before 
you go. Those chiefs of Milu have many sports 
and games. I tell you these things must be 
learned before you go into that land. If you 
are able to win against the spirits of that place 
you can get your grandfather.” 

All the chiefs aided the boy to acquire skill in 
all sports. They went to the fields of Paaohau. 
Nuanua, the most skilful teacher of hula, taught 
him to dance. The highest chiefs and chiefesses 
went with him to help, taking their retinues with 
them. Lei-makani said: “The knowledge of 
sports is the means by which you will catch your 
grandfather. Now be careful. Do not be stingy 
with food. Give to others and take care of the 
people.” 

They went up in a great company, and Haina- 
kolo wondered at the beauty of the boy, and asked 
why they were travelling. Lono-kai told them 
the reason for his journey and desire to see the 
field of sports. 

Nuanua, the hula teacher, sent his assistants 
to get all kinds of leaves and flowers used in the 


KE-AU-NINI 


205 


hula, then sent for a black pig to be used as 
an omen. If it ran to Lono-kai, he would be¬ 
come a good dancer; if not, he would fail. The 
pig went to him. The priest offered this prayer: 

“Laka is living where the forest leaves are trembling, 

The ghost-god of dancers above and below, 

From the boundary of the North to the place most southern: 

O Laka, your altar is covered with leaves, 

The dancing leaves of the ieie vine; 

This offering of leaves is the labor of the gods, 

The gods of your family, Pele and Hiiaka; 

The women living in warm winds come here for the toil, 

And this labor of ours is learning your dance. 

Tabu laid down; tabu lifted. Amama ua noa (we are through]! ” 

The priest lifted his eyes, and the pig was seen 
lying at the foot of the boy. Then he commenced 
teaching the boy the kilu and the first dance. 
They were thirty days learning the dances, and 
the boy learned all those his teachers knew. 

Then they went around Hawaii, studying the 
dances. He was told to go back and get all the 
new ideas and seek the gods to learn their newest 
dance, for theirs differed from those of his teach¬ 
ers. He was to seek this knowledge in dreams. 
Lei-makani said: “Your teachers have shown 
you the slow way; if that is all you know, you 
will win fame, but not victory. You must learn 
from the gods.” Lono-kai again went to Hama- 
kua with his companions and learned how to play 
konane, the favorite game of Ke-au-nini. The 
teacher said, “I have taught you all I know 


206 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


inside and outside, as I would not teach the 
other young chiefs.” The boy said to him, 
“ There is one thing more,—give offerings to 
the gods that they may teach us in our dreams 
newer and better ways.” 

So they waited quietly, offering sacrifices. The 
priests told him to set apart a pig while he made 
a prayer. If the pig died during the prayer, he 
would not forget anything learned. The boy 
laid his right hand on the pig and began to pray: 

“Here is a pig, an offering to the gods. 

O Lono in the Under-world, Lono in the sky: 

O Kane, who makes not-to-be-broken laws, 

Kane in the darkness, Kane in the hot wind, 

Kane of the generations, Kane of the thunder, 

Kane in the whirlwind and the storm: 

Here is labor—labor of the gods. 

My body is alive for you! 

Filled up is the Nuu-pule. 

My prayer is for those you hold dear 
O Laka, come with knowledge and magic power! 

Laka, dancing in the moving forest leaves 
Of the mountain ridges and the valleys, 

Return and bestow the knowledge 

Of Pele and Hiiaka, the guardians of the wind, 

Knowing the multitude of the gods of the night. 

Knowing Aukele-nui-aku in the Under-world. 

O people of the night, 

Here is the pig, the offering! 

Come with knowledge, magic power, and safety. 

Amama ua noa.” 

Then the boy lifted his hand and the pig lay silent 
in death. Then came thunder shaking the earth, 
and lightning flashing in flames, and a storm 
breaking in red rain. Mists came and the shad- 


KE-A U-NINI 


207 


ows of the thousands of gods of Ke-au-nini fell 
upon the boy. The teachers and friends sat in 
perfect silence for a long time. The storm was 
beating outside, and the boy was overcome with 
weariness and wondered at the silence of his 
friends. 

Rainbow colors were about him, and the people 
were awed by their fears and sat still until even¬ 
ing came. Then the teacher asked the boy if 
he saw what had been done in the darkness rest¬ 
ing over him, and if he could explain to them. 
The boy said, “I do not understand you; perhaps 
my teacher can explain.” 

Nuanua said: “I am growing old and have 
never seen such things above any one learning 
the dance. You have come to me modestly, like 
one of the common people, when I should have 
gone to you, and now the gods show your worth 
and power and their favor.” 

Then he took a piece of wood from the hula 
altar which was covered with leaves and flowers, 
and, putting it in a cup of awa, shook it, and 
looked, and said to the boy: “This is the best I 
can do for you. Now the gods will take you in 
their care.” Then he poured awa into cups, 
passing them to all the people as he chanted 
incantations, all the company clapping their 
hands. Then they drank. But the boy’s cup 
was drunk by the eepas of Po (gnomes of the 


208 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


night). So the company feasted and the night 
became calm. Lono-kai that night left his 
friends with Nuanua and journeyed on. He 
waited some days and then told Lei-makani he 
thought he was ready. He said: “Yes, I have 
heard about your success, but I will see what 
you can do. We will wait another ten days 
before you go.” Then for two days all the people 
of Waipio brought their offerings. They built 
a great lanai, and feated. Lei-makani told the 
people that he had called them together to see 
the wonderful power in the sports of the boy. 
So the boy stood up and chanted: 

“O Kuamu-amu [the little people of the clouds of the sky], 

The alii thronging in crowds from Kuai-he-lani, 

On the shoulders of Moana-liha, divided at the waters, 
Divided at the waters of the heavy mist, 

And the rain coming from the skies, 

And the storm rushing inland. 

Broken into mists are the falls of the mountains,— 

Mists that bathe the buds of the flowers. 

Opening the buds below the precipices. 

Arise, O beloved one!” 


Ke-au-nini heard this chant, even down in Po, 
while he was sporting with the eepas of Milu, 
while his spirit body was with his friend Popo- 
alaea. He repeated the same chant, and the 
ghosts all rejoiced and laughed, and Laka leaped 
to his side and danced before him. They had 
the same sports as the noted ones on Hawaii. 
Lono-kai danced in magic power before all the 


KE-A U-NINI 


209 


people until the time came for him to go along 
the path of his visions of the night. All omens 
and signs had been noted and were found to be 
favorable. One of the old priests told the people 
to make known their thought about the best 
path for the young chief, but they were silent. 
Then Moli-lele, an old priest who had the spirit 
of the unihipilis resting upon him, said: “I know 
that there will be many troubles. Cold and 
fierce winds come over the sea. Low tides come 
in the morning. The land of Kane-huna-moku 
rises in the coral surf.” He chanted: 

“ Dead is this chief of ours, 

Caught as a bird strikes a fish; 

The foam of surf waves rises up, 

Smiting and driving below. 

No sorcerer of the land is there, 

Where the coral reef labors, 

And the rock-eating Hina of the far-off sea.” 


The chiefs began to wail, but lightning was in 
the eyes of the boy and his face was filled with 
anger at this word of the old priest. Then 
another priest arose and said: “O chiefs and 
people, I have seen the path to the Under-world, 
and it is not right for this young man to go. His 
body is human and easily captured by the ghosts. 
He might be safe if he could get the body of the 
one he seeks. There are fierce guardians of the 
path who will make war on whoever comes in 
the flesh.” 


210 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


Then Kalei, another priest, said: “I know their 
world. I saw the stars this morning, and they 
told me that the path was stopped against this 
chief by broken coral and the bones of the dead. 
The tabu-children of Hina are swimming in the 
sea. I will prove the danger by this awa cup. 
If the bubbles of the awa poured in go to the 
right, he can go. If to the left, he must stay.” 
This he did uttering incantations, but bubbles 
covered all the surface. 

Then the priests advised the young chief to 
stay and eat the fat of the land. Then Hae-hae, 
the great chief, said, “ We have come to point out 
a path, if we can, and to make quiet and peaceful 
that way into Po.” He instituted new omens, 
and showed that the young chief would be suc¬ 
cessful, but he would have many difficulties to 
overcome. 

Lono-kai arose and said: “The words of these 
chiefs were twisted. I will go after the spirit- 
body of my grandfather, as I have sworn to do. 
My word is fast. I will go to the land where my 
grandfather stays.” 

The priests who had tried to terrify Lono-kai 
were his enemies, and would oppose his journey, 
and he wanted them killed, but Lei-makani would 
not permit it. Ku also quieted him with patient 
words, and he ceased from anger and told them 
he must prepare at once to go. 


KE-AU-NINI 


211 


Lei-makani had a double canoe made ready, 
and selected a number of strong men to accom¬ 
pany the young chief. Lono-kai would not have 
any of these men, but went out early in the morn¬ 
ing, took a cup of awa to the temple nearby and 
chanted his genealogical mele. 

Thunder and lightning and heavy wind and 
rain attended his visit to the temple. He re¬ 
turned to his parents and told them to wait for 
him thirty days. If a mist was over all the land 
they might wait and watch ten days more, and 
if the mist continued, another ten, when he would 
return with thunder and lightning to meet his 
friends. But if the voices of the sea were strong 
at Kumukahi, with mist resting on Opaeloa 
and rain on Puu-o-ka-polei, then he would be 
dead. 

He took his feather cloak and war weapons 
from his grandparents, and feather helmet, and 
went out. He bade his parents farewell, took a 
coconut-husk canoe and went down to the sea. 
The waves rose high, pounding the face of the 
coast precipices. Lei-makani ran down to bring 
Lono-kai back, but according to the proverb he 
caught the hand of the chiefess who lives in the 
land of Nowhere. The boy had disappeared. 

Out in the sea Lono-kai was tossing in the 
high waves, passing all the islands, even to the 
land Niihau. There he met the great watchman 


212 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


of Kuai-he-lani called Honu (the turtle). He 
came quietly near the head. Honu asked, 
“Where are you going?” Lono-kai said: “You 
speak as if you alone had the right to the sea. 
You are a humpbacked turtle; you shall become 
a* great round stone.” Then the turtle began 
to slap its fins on the sea, raising waves high as 
precipices. Five times forty he struck the sea 
with mighty force, looking for the destruction of 
the chief as the waves passed over him. But 
Lono-kai waited until the turtle became tired, 
thinking the chief dead. As the waters became 
calm the chief raised his club and struck the 
right flapper of the turtle, destroying its power. 

Then the left fin beat the sea into foam, but 
Lono-kai waited and broke that fin also; then he 
broke the back of the turtle into little pieces and 
went on his way. Soon the ocean grew fierce 
again. Huge waves came, and whirlwinds. He 
saw something red in the great sea—a kupua 
of the ocean. The name of this enemy was Ea, 
a great red turtle, who crawled out and asked 
where he was going. Lono-kai said: “What 
right have you to question me? Have I ques¬ 
tioned your right to go on the sea?” 

Ea said: “This is not your place. I will kill 
you. You shall be food for me to eat. When 
you are dead I will go and kill the watchman who 
let you come into this tabu-sea of my chief.” 


KE-AU-NINI 


213 


“Who is your chief?” asked Lono-kai. Ea re¬ 
plied : ‘ ‘Hina-kekai [the calabash for boiling water], 
the daughter of Pii-moi. Now I will kill you.” 

Then Ea began to strike the water with his 
right fin, throwing the water up on all sides in 
mighty waves, expecting to overthrow Lono-kai 
and his boat. When he rested to see the result 
of this battle his fin was on the surface, and the 
chief struck it and broke it. 

Then in another fight, when head and fin were 
lifted to destroy the boat, Lono-kai struck the 
neck and broke it, so killing his enemy. 

Now he thought all his troubles were over and 
he could go safely on his way. 

But soon there lay before him a new enemy, 
floating on the sea, a very long thing, like a long 
stick. He approached and saw that it was like 
the fin of a shark, but as he came nearer he ob¬ 
served the smooth skin of a long eel. Lifting 
its head and looking right at him, the eel said: 
“O, proud man, you are here where you have 
no business to be. I will mix you with my awa 
and eat you now.” Then he struck at Lono- 
kai with his tail and hit his eyes and knocked 
him down, then, thinking Lono-kai was dead, 
he turned his head to the boat to catch the body, 
but Lono-kai, leaping up on the head of the eel, 
holding his boat with one hand and his club with 
the other, struck the head with the magic club, 


214 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


breaking the bones. Fire came out of the broken 
head, the eel falling into pieces which became 
islands of fire in the midst of which appeared a 
very beautiful woman who asked him whence he 
came, and why. 

He told her he was from Hawaii and was going 
to Kuai-he-lani and would kill her, for he thought 
she was a mo-o, or dragon-woman. He said, 
“You tried to kill me, O woman, and now 
you must stay and become the fire oven of the 
ocean.” He asked her name. She said to him: 
“This kupua was Waka, the dragon of the rough 
head, and I have escaped from his body. I want 
you now for my husband, and I will accompany 
you on your journey.” 

Lono-kai told her, “This would not be right, 
but when I return, if I come this way, you shall 
be mine.” She said, “My ruler will kill me, for 
I have been sent to guard this place.” Lono-kai 
asked, “Who is your ruler?” “Hina-kekai, she 
will kill me. You belong to the Ku-aha-ilo fam¬ 
ily, which is a very strong family. Therefore we 
have been watching for you for our chiefess.” 

Lono-kai told her to* go to his land and wait 
for him. He would be her husband. She must 
wait there without fault until his return. Then 
he went away. Waka did not know whence this 
chief came, so she went to Oahu and landed at 
Laiewai. There she awaited her husband. 


KE-AU-NINI 


215 


Lono-kai went on to the land of Kuai-he-lani, 
where he landed and hid his boat among the 
vines on the beach. He went to the temple where 
the body of his grandfather lay, clean and beau¬ 
tiful in death. He could not see any door or 
break in the body for the escape of the spirit. 

Then he struck the earth with his magic war- 
club until a great hole opened. He looked down 
and saw a large house and many people moving 
around below. He knew that the spirit of his 
grandfather was there. He went down and 
looked about, but the people had disappeared. 
The remains of a great feast were there. He 
stood at the door looking in, when two men ap¬ 
peared and welcomed him with an “Aloha,” and 
told him he must have come from the land above, 
for there was no man like him in that place. 
They advised him to make his path back into 
that land from whence he had come, for if the 
king of the Under-world saw him he would be 
killed. Lono-kai asked, “Who is your king?” 
They told him, “Milu ” “What does he do?” 
“Our king dances for Popo-alaea and Ke-au- 
nini.” Lono-kai went with the men to see the 
sports. They tried to persuade him not to go, 
but he was very obstinate and asked them to 
hide him. They said, “If we do this and you 
are discovered we shall be destroyed.” 

He told them the reason of his coming and 


2 l6 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


asked their help, and said when he had his grand¬ 
father they could follow him into the Upper- 
world. They went to a house which was large 
and beautiful. They entered and saw the chiefs 
playing kilu. After a long time Lono-kai began 
to make his presence known. Popo-alaea was 
winning. Then Ke-au-nini chanted: 

“The multitude of those below give greeting 
To the friends of the inland forest of Puna; 

We praise the restfulness of our home; 

The leaves and divine flowers of that place.” 

Lono-kai chanted the same words as an echo 
of Ke-au-nini. Silence fell on the group, and 
Milu cried out: “Who is the disturber of our 
sport? We must find him and kill him.” They 
began the search, but could not find any one 
and at last resumed their games. Popo-alaea 
chanted: 

“I welcome back my friend. 

The great shadow of Waimea, 

Where stands the milo-tree * in the gentle breeze, 

And the ohia-tree. You know the place.” 

Ke-au-nini sang the same chant. Then Lono- 
kai echoed it very softly and sweetly. All said 
this last voice was the best. Milu again caused 
a search to be made, but found nothing. The 
two men hid Lono-kai by a post of the house. 

The group returned to the sports. Soon Milu 
changed the game to hula. Ke-au-nini stood up 
to dance and began his chant: 

* Thespesia populnea. 


KE-A U-NINI 


217 


“Aloha to our houses without friends. 

The path goes inland to Papalakamo; 

Come now and enter! 

Outside is the trouble, the storm, 

And there you meet the cold.” 

The people around were striking the spirit 
drums. Then Lono-kai chanted: 

“ Established is the honor of Ke-au-nini 
(Noteworthy is the name), 

Lifted up to the high heaven; 

I am the child of Lei-makani, 

I am Lono from the sunrise place, Hae-o-hae: 

I have come after thee, my father; 

We must return. Where are you? ” 

Ke-au-nini could not stand up to dance when 
he heard the voice of his grandchild, for his love 
overpowered him. He looked up and saw the 
form of the young chief leaping into the place 
prepared for the hula and standing there before 
the chief. The people rose up in great confu¬ 
sion. Lono-kai caught the spirit of Ke-au-nini 
and put it in a coconut-shell. He leaped past 
the ghosts, and ran very swiftly out of the house. 

Some of the people saw him lay hands on 
Ke-au-nini, and cried out: “Oh, the husband of 
our chief ess! Oh, the husband of our chief ess! 
He has taken the husband of our chief ess! ” But 
they did not see Lono-kai go out. The two men 
who had aided Lono-kai went out as soon as he 
leaped into the hula place. They hurried along 
the path toward freedom, but Lono-kai soon 


218 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


overtook them. Milu called to his people to 
hasten and capture and kill the one who had 
stolen Ke-au-nini. They saw the two men with 
Lono-kai, and pursued rapidly, but could not 
overtake them. The fugitives were very near 
the opening to the world above. When Lono- 
kai saw that the pursuers were almost upon 
him he whirled his magic war-club and struck 
the ground, making a great hole into which the 
spirits fell one over the other. 

Lono-kai and the two watchmen went up the 
cave opening by which he had gone down into 
the land of Milu. Dawn was breaking as they 
ran into the temple at Kuai-he-lani, where the 
body of Ke-au-nini was lying. Lono-kai pushed 
the spirit into the hollow of the foot and held the 
foot fast, shaking it until the spirit had gone to 
the very ends of the body and life had returned. 

When Ke-au-nini was fully restored, Lono-kai 
asked him if he could help restore to their bodies 
the two spirits who had aided himin escaping. 
Ke-au-nini evidently did not remember anything 
of his life in the Under-world, for he did not know 
these ghosts and thought he had been asleep 
from the time he entered the temple and fell 
down in weariness. Lono-kai thought they 
could not find the bodies, but Ke-au-nini put 
the ghosts in coconuts and carried them up 
into the forest to one of his ancestors who knew 


KE-AU-NINI 


219 


the bodies from which these ghosts had come. 
Thus they were restored and had a long and 
happy life in their former home. 

Lono-kai told his grandfather they must return 
to Hawaii to meet all the friends. 

For thirty days mists covered Hawaii and there 
was thunder and lightning and earthquakes. 
Then Lono-kai said to Ke-au-nini: “To-morrow 
we must go to Hawaii. We must have the ap¬ 
propriate ceremonies for cleansing and taking 
food.” Ke-au-nini said: “Yes, I have been a 
long time in the adopted land of Milu, and my 
eyes are dimmed and my thought is dazed with 
the dance of the restless spirits of the night. We 
must wait until I have performed all the cleans¬ 
ing ceremonies, made offerings and incantations. 
Prayers must be said for my return to life. Then 
we will go.” 

They attended to all the temple rites, and the 
marks of death were washed away. The body 
was cleansed, the eyes made clear, so strength 
and joy returned into the body. Then Ke-au- 
nini said: “I am ready. I see a multitude of 
birds circling around Kaula. There is evil 
toward Hawaii.” 

They again went into the temple and slept 
until very early the next morning. Then they 
took their coconut-husk canoes, each holding 
his own in his hand, and went down to the edge 


220 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


of the sea and stood there, each pointing the nose 
of his boat toward Waipio. 

None of the people awoke until they landed. 
They pulled the boats upon the beach and went 
to their temple. As they came to the door of the 
temple, drums beat like rolling thunder. Then 
the sun arose, the mists all vanished from Hawaii. 
The people awoke and understood that their 
chiefs had returned. They ran out of their 
houses shouting and rejoicing. Olopana com¬ 
manded the chiefs and the people to prepare all 
kinds of sweet food and gifts and things for a very 
great luau. When this was done they feasted 
sixty days and returned to their homes. 

Lei-makani became the ruler of Hawaii. 
Lono-kai-o-lohia was honored by his father. All 
of the chiefs in that generation were noted 
throughout the islands. 



It was said that there was a beautiful chiefess 
of Molokai who wanted to find a young chief of 
Hawaii for her husband, so she sent her kahu, or 
guardian, and servants to make the journey 
while she went back to her sleeping-place and 
dreamed of a very fine young chief shining like 


KE-AU-NINI 


221 


the sun and surrounded by all the colors of the 
rainbow. Then she awoke and found no one, 
but she loved that spirit-body which she had 
seen in her dreams, so she arose and went down 
to the beach and told her guardian to make haste 
and reach Hawaii that day. 

When the kahu heard her call, he put forth all 
his power and uttered the proper incantations. 
He sped through the waters like a skimming bird, 
passed the great precipices near Waipio, and soon 
after dawn landed on the beautiful beach. 

The people had not yet come from their homes 
for the work of the day. He went up to the 
village and came near the house of Lei-makani. 
A watchman asked where he was from and the 
purpose of his journey. He said: “I am a 
stranger from Molokai, a messenger from my 
chiefess, who seeks a husband of high rank equal 
to her own. She has no one worthy to be her 
husband.” 

The Waipio chief said: “We have a splendid 
young chief, but there is no one his equal in rank 
and beauty. You could not ask for him.” 

Then Lei-makani heard the noise and came 
out and asked about this conversation. His 
watchman told him that this man was from 
Molokai. 

Lei-makani asked the man to approach. The 
Molokai chief thought that Lei-makani was the 


222 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


handsomest man he had ever seen. Ke-au-kai 
came out of the temple and looked upon the 
stranger and asked why he had come. 

When he learned that the man sought a hus¬ 
band for his chiefess, he advised him to return 
lest he should meet death at the hands of the 
watchman, but the man would not go away. 

After a time the chiefs of Waipio came before 
Lei-makani. The Molokai chief explained his 
errand, and praised his chiefess, and said that he 
was willing to be killed and cooked in an oven if 
she were not as beautiful and of as high rank 
as he had told them. Lono-kai at that moment 
entered the assembly, and the stranger cried out: 
‘‘This man is the husband for my chiefess. Her 
tabu rank is the same as the tabu rank of this 
fine young chief. No others in all the islands are 
like these two. It would be glorious for them to 
meet.” Lono-kai said, “You return at once and 
make preparation, and I will come in the even¬ 
ing.” 

The kahu returned to Molokai, but the chiefess 
saw him coming back alone and became very 
angry, her eyes flashing with wrath because he 
had not brought the young chief with him. She 
screamed out, “Where is the value of your jour¬ 
ney, if you return without my husband? ” 

“Wait a little,” the guardian said gently, 
“until you hear about what I have seen upon 



COCONUTS 

































KE-AU-NINI 


223 


Hawaii. I have found the one you wanted. We 
must get ready to meet your husband, for the 
young chief is coming here this evening. When 
you meet, the love of each of you will be great 
toward the other.” 

She ordered all Molokai to prepare for a great 
feast commencing that evening. Messengers ran 
swiftly, people and chiefs hastened their labors, 
and'by evening vast quantities of food had been 
prepared. 

Lono-kai took his coconut-husk boat and came 
over the sea like a bird skimming the water. 

As the sun sank and the evening shadows fell, 
the two young people met and delighted in each 
other’s beauty. Then they were married in the 
midst of all the people of Molokai. 




224 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


XVIII 

THE BRIDE FROM THE UNDER-WORLD 

A Legend of the Kalakaua Family 

U, one of the most widely known gods of 
the Pacific Ocean, was thought by the 
Hawaiians to have dwelt as a mortal for 
some time on the western side of the island 
Hawaii. Here he chose a chiefess by the name 
of Hina as his wife, and to them were born two 
children. When he withdrew from his residence 
among men he left a son on the uplands of the 
district of North Kona, and a daughter on the 
seashore of the same district. The son, Hiku-i- 
kana-hele (Hiku of the forest), lived with his 
mother. The daughter, Kewalu, dwelt under the 
care of guardian chiefs and priests by a temple, 
the ruined walls of which are standing even to 
the present day. Here she was carefully pro¬ 
tected and perfected in all arts pertaining to the 
very high chiefs. Hiku-of-the-Forest was not 
accustomed to go to the sea. His life was de¬ 
veloped among the forests along the western 
slopes of the great mountains of Hawaii. Here 
he learned the wisdom of his mother and of the 








THE BRIDE FROM THE UNDER-WORLD 225 

chiefs and priests under whose care he was 
placed. To him were given many of the super¬ 
natural powers of his father. His mother 
guarded him from the knowledge that he had a 
sister and kept him from going to the temple by 
the side of which she had her home. 

Hiku was proficient in all the feats of manly 
strength and skill upon which chiefs of the highest 
rank prided themselves. None of the chiefs of 
the inland districts could compare with him in 
symmetry of form, beauty of countenance, and 
skill in manly sports. 

The young chief noted the sounds of the forest 
and the rushing winds along the sides of the 
mountains. Sometimes, like storm voices, he 
heard from far off the beat of the surf along the 
coral reef. One day he heard a noise like the 
flapping of the wings of many birds. He looked 
toward the mountain, but no multitude of his 
feathered friends could be found. Again the 
same sound awakened his curiosity. He now 
learned that it came from the distant seashore 
far below his home on the mountain-side. 

Hiku-of-the-Forest called his mother and to¬ 
gether they listened as again the strange sound 
from the beach rose along the mountain gulches 
and was echoed among the cliffs. 

“E Hiku,” said the mother, “that is the clap¬ 
ping of the hands of a large number of men and 


226 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


women. The people who live by the sea are 
very much pleased and are expressing their 
great delight in some wonderful deed of a great 
chief.” 

Day after day the rejoicing of the people was 
heard by the young chief. At last he sent a 
trusty retainer to learn the cause of the tumult. 
The messenger reported that he had found cer¬ 
tain tabu surf waters of the Kona beach and had 
seen a very high chiefess who alone played with 
her surf-board on the incoming waves. Her 
beauty surpassed that of any other among all 
the people, and her skill in riding the surf was 
wonderful, exceeding that of any one whom the 
people had ever seen, therefore the multitude 
gathered from near and far to watch the marvel¬ 
ous deeds of the beautiful woman. Their pleas¬ 
ure was so great that when they clapped their 
hands the sound was like the voices of many 
thunder-storms. 

The young chief said he must go down and see 
this beautiful maiden. The mother knew that 
this chiefess of such great beauty must be Kewalu, 
the sister of Hiku. She feared that trouble 
would come to Kewalu if her more powerful 
brother should find her and take her in marriage, 
as was the custom among the people. The 
omens which had been watched concerning the 
children in their infancy had predicted many 


THE BRIDE FROM THE UNDER-WORLD 227 

serious troubles. But the young man could not 
be restrained. He was determined to see the 
wonderful woman. 

He sent his people to gather the nuts of the 
kukui, or candlenut-tree, and crush out the oil 
and prepare it for anointing his body. He had 
never used a surf-board, but he commanded his 
servants to prepare the best one that could be 
made. Down to the seashore Hiku went with 
his retainers, down to the tabu place of the beau¬ 
tiful Kewalu. 

He anointed his body with the kukui oil until 
it glistened like the polished leaves of trees; 
then taking his surf-board he went boldly to the 
tabu surf waters of his sister. The people stood 
in amazed silence, expecting to see speedy pun¬ 
ishment meted out to the daring stranger. But 
the gods of the sea favored Hiku. Hiku had 
never been to the seaside and had never learned 
the arts of those who were skilful in the waters. 
Nevertheless as he entered the water he carried 
the surf-board more royally than any chief the 
people had ever known. The sunlight shone in 
splendor upon his polished body when he stood 
on the board and rode to the shore on the crests 
of the highest surf waves, performing wonderful 
feats by his magic power. The joy of the multi¬ 
tude was unbounded, and a mighty storm of noise 
was made by the clapping of their hands. 


228 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


Kewalu and her maidens had left the beach 
before the coming of Hiku and were resting in 
their grass houses in a grove of coconut-trees 
near the heiau. When the great noise made by 
the people aroused her she sent one of her friends 
to learn the cause of such rejoicing. When she 
learned that an exceedingly handsome chief of the 
highest rank was sporting among her tabu waters 
she determined to see him. 

So, calling her maidens, she went down to the 
seashore and first saw Hiku on the highest crest 
of the rolling surf. She decided at once that she 
had never seen a man so comely, and Hiku, surf- 
riding to the shore, felt that he had never dreamed 
of such grace and beauty as marked the maiden 
who was coming to welcome him. 

When Kewalu came near she took the wreath 
of rare and fragrant flowers which she wore 
and coming close to him threw it around his 
shoulders as a token to all the people that she 
had taken him to be her husband. 

Then the joy of the people surpassed all the 
pleasure of all the days before, for they looked 
upon the two most beautiful beings they had 
ever seen and believed that these two would 
make glad each other’s lives. 

Thus Hiku married his sister, Kewalu, accord¬ 
ing to the custom of that time, because she was 
the only one of all the people equal to him in 


THE BRIDE FROM THE UNDER-WORLD 229 

rank and beauty, and he alone was fitted to stand 
in her presence. 

For a long time they lived together, sometimes 
sporting among the highest white crests of storm- 
tossed surf waves, sometimes enjoying the guess¬ 
ing and gambling games in which the Hawaiians 
of all times have been very expert, sometimes 
chanting meles and genealogies and telling mar¬ 
velous stories of sea and forest, and sometimes 
feasting and resting under the trees surrounding 
their grass houses. 

Hiku at last grew weary of the life by the sea. 
He wanted the forest on the mountain and the 
cold, stimulating air of the uplands. But he did 
not wish to take his sister-wife with him. Per¬ 
haps the omens of their childhood had revealed 
danger to Kewalu if she left her home by the sea. 
Whenever he tried to steal away from her she 
would rush to him and cling to him, persuading 
him to wait for new sports and joys. 

One night Hiku rose up very quietly and passed 
out into the darkness. As he began to climb 
toward the uplands the leaves of the trees rustled 
loudly in welcome. The night birds circled 
around him and hastened him on his way, but 
Kewalu was awakened. She called for Hiku. 
Again and again she called, but Hiku had gone. 
She heard his footsteps as his eager tread shook 
the ground. She heard the branches breaking 


230 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


as he forced his way through the forests. Then 
she hastened after him and her plaintive cry was 
louder and clearer than the voices of the night 
birds. 

“E Hiku, return! E Hiku, return! 

0 my love, wait for Kewalu! 

Hiku goes up the hills; 

Very hard is this hill, O Hiku! 

O Hiku, my beloved!” 

But Hiku by his magic power sent thick fogs 
and mists around her. She was blinded and 
chilled, but she heard the crashing of the branches 
and ferns as Hiku forced his way through them, 
and she pressed on, still calling: 

“E Hiku, beloved, return to Kewalu.” 

Then the young chief threw the long flexible 
vines of the ieie down into the path. They 
twined around her feet and made her stumble as 
she tried to follow him. The rain was falling all 
around her, and the way was very rough and 
hard. She slipped and fell again and again. 

The ancient chant connected with the legend 
says: 

“ Hiku is climbing up the hill. 

Branches and vines are in the way, 

And Kewalu is begging him to stop. 

Rain-drops are walking on the leaves. 

The flowers are beaten to the ground. 

Hopeless the quest, but Kewalu is calling: 

‘E Hiku, beloved! Let us go back together.’” 


Her tears, mingled with the rain, streamed 
down her cheeks. The storm wet and destroyed 


I 



THE HOME OF KEWALU 































































































THE BRIDE FROM THE UNDER-WORLD 231 

the kapa mantle which she had thrown around 
her as she hurried from her home after Hiku. In 
rags she tried to force her way through the 
tangled undergrowth of the uplands, but as 
she crept forward step by step she stumbled and 
fell again into the cold wet mass of ferns and 
grasses. Then the vines crept up around her 
legs and her aims and held her, but she tore 
them loose and forced her way upward, still 
calling. She was bleeding where the rough limbs 
of the trees had torn her delicate flesh. She 
was so bruised and sore from the blows of the 
bending branches that she could scarcely creep 
along. 

At last she could no longer hear the retreating 
footsteps of Hiku. Then, chilled and desolate 
and deserted, she gave up in despair and crept 
back to the village. There she crawled into the 
grass house where she had been so happy with 
her brother Hiku, intending to put an end to her 
life. 

The ieie vines held her arms and legs, but she 
partially disentangled herself and wound them 
around her head and neck. Soon the tendrils 
grew tight and slowly but surely choked the 
beautiful chiefess to death. This was the first 
suicide in the records of Hawaiian mythology. 
As the body gradually became lifeless the spirit 
crept upward to the lua-uhane, the door by which 


232 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


it passed out of the body into the spirit world. 
This “spirit-door” is the little hole in the corner 
of the eye. Out of it the spirit is thought to 
creep slowly as the body becomes cold in death. 
The spirit left the cold body a prisoner to the 
tangled vines, and slowly and sadly journeyed 
to Milu, the Under-world home of the ghosts of 
the departed. 

The lust of the forest had taken possession of 
Hiku. He felt the freedom of the swift birds 
who had been his companions in many an excur¬ 
sion into the heavily shaded depths of the forest 
jungles. He plunged with abandon into the 
whirl and rush of the storm winds which he had 
called to his aid to check Kewalu. He was 
drunken with the atmosphere which he had 
breathed throughout his childhood and young 
manhood. When he thought of Kewalu he was 
sure that he had driven her back to her home by 
the temple, where he could find her when once 
more he should seek the seashore. 

He had only purposed to stay a while on the 
uplands, and then return to his sister-wife. 

His father, the god Ku, had been watching him 
and had also seen the suicide of the beautiful 
Kewalu. He saw the spirit pass down to the 
kingdom of Milu, the home of the ghosts. Then 
he called Hiku and told him how heedless and 
thoughtless he had been in his treatment of 


THE BRIDE FROM THE UNDER-WORLD 233 

Kewalu, and how in despair she had taken her 
life, the spirit going to the Under-world. 

Hiku, the child of the forest, was overcome with 
grief. He was ready to do anything to atone 
for the suffering he had caused Kewalu, and repair 
the injury. 

Ku told him that only by the most daring 
effort could he hope to regain his loved bride. 
He could go to the Under-world, meet the ghosts 
and bring his sister back, but this could only be 
done at very great risk to himself, for if the ghosts 
discovered and captured him they would punish 
him with severest torments and destroy all hope 
of returning to the Upper-world. 

Hiku was determined to search the land of 
Milu and find his bride and bring her back to 
his Kona home by the sea. Ku agreed to aid 
him with the mighty power which he had as a 
god, nevertheless it was absolutely necessary 
that Hiku should descend alone and by his own 
wit and skill secure the ghost of Kewalu. 

Hiku prepared a coconut-shell full of oil made 
from decayed kukui nuts. This was very vile 
and foul smelling. Then he made a long stout 
rope of ieie vines. 

Ku knew where the door to the Under-world 
was, through which human beings could go down. 
This was a hole near the seashore in the valley of 
Waipio on the eastern coast of the island. 


234 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


Ku and Hiku went to Waipio, descended the 
precipitous walls of the valley and found the 
door to the pit of Milu. Milu was the ruler of 
the Under-world. 

Hiku rubbed his body all over with the rancid 
kukui oil and then gave the ieie vine into the 
keeping of his father to hold fast while he made 
his descent into the world of the spirits of the 
dead. Slowly Ku let the vine down until at 
last Hiku stood in the strange land of Milu. 

No one noticed his coming and so for a little 
while he watched the ghosts, studying his best 
method of finding Kewalu. Some of the ghosts 
were sleeping; some were gambling and play¬ 
ing the same games they had loved so well while 
living in the Upper-world; others were feast¬ 
ing and visiting around the poi bowl as they had 
formerly been accustomed to do. 

Hiku knew that the strong odor of the rotten 
oil would be his best protection, for none of the 
spirits would want to touch him and so would not 
discover that he was flesh and blood. Therefore 
he rubbed his body once more thoroughly with 
the oil and disfigured himself with dirt. As he 
passed from place to place searching for Kewalu, 
the ghosts said, “What a bad-smelling spirit!” 
So they turned away from him as if he was one 
of the most unworthy ghosts dwelling in Milu. 
In the realm of Milu he saw the people in the 


THE BRIDE FROM THE UNDER-WORLD 235 

game of rolling coconut-shells to hit a post. 
Kulioe, one of the spirits, had been playing the 
kilu and had lost all his property to the daughter 
of Milu and one of her friends. He saw Hiku 
and said, “If you are a skilful man perhaps you 
should play with these two girls.” Hiku said: 
“I have nothing. I have only come this day 
and am alone.” Kulioe bet his bones against 
some of the property he had lost. The first 
girl threw her cup at the kilu post. Hiku 
chanted: 

“Are you known by Papa and Wakea, 

O eyelashes or rays of the sun? 

Mine is the cup of kilu.” 

Her cup did not touch the kilu post before Hiku. 
She threw again, but did not touch, while Hiku 
chanted the same words. They took a new cup, 
but failed. 

Hiku commenced swinging the cup and threw. 
It glided and twisted around on the floor and 
struck the post. This counted five and won the 
first bet. Then he threw the cup numbered 
twenty, won all the property and gave it back 
to Kulioe. 

At last he found Kewalu, but she was by the 
side of the high chief, Milu, who had seen the 
beautiful princess as she came into the Under¬ 
world. More glorious was Kewalu than any 
other of all those of noble blood who had ever 


236 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


descended to Milu. The ghosts had welcomed 
the spirit of the princess with great rejoicing, and 
the king had called her at once to the highest 
place in his court. 

She had not been long with the chiefs of Milu 
before they asked her to sing or chant her mele. 
The mele was the family song by which any 
chief made known his rank and the family with 
which he was connected, whenever he visited 
chiefs far away from his own home. 

Hiku heard the chant and mingled with the 
multitude of ghosts gathered around the place 
where the high chiefs were welcoming the spirit 
of Kewalu. 

While Hiku and Kewalu had been living to¬ 
gether one of their pleasures was composing 
and learning to intone a chant which no other 
among either mortals or spirits should know 
besides themselves. 

While Kewalu was singing she introduced her 
part of this chant. Suddenly from among the 
throng of ghosts arose the sound of a clear voice 
chanting the response which was known by no 
other person but Hiku. 

Kewalu was overcome by the thought that 
perhaps Hiku was dead and was now among the 
ghosts, but did not dare to incur the hatred of 
King Milu by making himself known; or per¬ 
haps Hiku had endured many dangers of the 


THE BRIDE FROM THE UNDER-WORLD 237 

lower world by coming even in human form to 
find her and therefore must remain concealed. 

The people around the king, seeing her grief, 
were not surprised when she threw a mantle 
around herself and left them to go away alone 
into the shadows. 

She wandered from place to place among the 
groups of ghosts, looking for Hiku. Sometimes 
3he softly chanted her part of the mele. At last 
she was again answered and was sure that Hiku 
was near, but the only one very close was a foul¬ 
smelling, dirt-covered ghost from whom she was 
turning away in despair. 

Hiku in a low tone warned her to be very 
careful and not recognize him, but assured her 
that he had come in person to rescue her and 
take her back to her old home where her body 
was then lying. He told her to wander around 
and yet to follow him until they came to the 
ieie vine which he had left hanging from the hole 
which opened to the Upper-world. 

When Hiku came to the place where the vine 
was hanging he took hold to see if Ku, his father, 
was still carefully guarding the other end to pull 
him up when the right signal should be given. 
Having made himself sure of the aid of the god, 
he tied the end of the vine into a strong loop and 
seated himself in it. Then he began to swing 
back and forth, back and forth, sometimes rising 



238 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


high and sometimes checking himself and resting 
with his feet on the ground. 

Kewalu came near and begged to be allowed 
to swing, but Hiku would only consent on the 
condition that she would sit in his lap. 

The ghosts thought that this would be an ex¬ 
cellent arrangement and shouted their approval 
of the new sport. Then Hiku took the spirit of 
Kewalu in his strong arms and began to swing 
slowly back and forth, then more and more 
rapidly, higher and higher until the people mar¬ 
velled at the wonderful skill. Meanwhile he 
gave the signal to Ku to pull them up. Almost 
imperceptibly the swing receded from the spirit 
world. 

All this time Hiku had been gently and lov¬ 
ingly rubbing the spirit of Kewalu and softly 
uttering charm after charm so that while they 
were swaying in the air she was growing smaller 
and smaller. Even the chiefs of Milu had been 
attracted to this unusual sport, and had drawn 
near to watch the wonderful skill of the strange 
foul-smelling ghost. 

Suddenly it dawned upon some of the beholders 
that the vine was being drawn up to the Upper- 
world. Then the cry arose: “He is stealing the 
woman!” “He is stealing the woman!” 

The Under-world was in a great uproar of 
noise. Some of the ghosts were leaping as high 


THE BRIDE FROM THE UNDER-WORLD 239 

as they could, others were calling for Hiku to 
return, and others were uttering charms to 
cause his downfall. 

No one could leap high enough to touch Hiku, 
and the power of all the charms was defeated by 
the god Ku, who rapidly drew the vine upward. 

Hiku succeeded in charming the ghost of Ke- 
walu into the coconut-shell which he still carried. 
Then stopping the opening tight with his fingers 
so that the spirit could not escape he brought 
Kewalu back to the land of mortals. 

With the aid of Ku the steep precipices sur¬ 
rounding Waipio Valley were quickly scaled and 
the journey made to the temple by the tabu 
surf waters of Kona. Here the body of Kewalu 
had been lying in state. Here the auwe, or 
mourning chant, of the retinue of the dead 
princess could be heard from afar. 

Hiku passed through the throngs of mourners, 
carefully guarding his precious coconut until 
he came to the feet, cold and stiff in death. 
Kneeling down he placed the small hole in the 
end of the shell against the tender spot in the 
bottom of one of the cold feet. 

The spirits of the dead must find their way 
back little by little through the body from the 
feet to the eyes, from which they must depart 
when they bid final farewell to the world. To 
try to send the spirit back into the body by 


240 


LEGENDS OF GHOSTS 


placing it in the lua-uhane, or “door of the soul,” 
would be to have it where it had to depart from 
the body rather than enter it. 

Hiku removed his finger from the hole in the 
coconut and uttered the incantations which 
would allure the ghost into the body. Little by 
little the soul of Kewalu came back, and the 
body grew warm from the feet upward, until at 
last the eyes opened and the soul looked out 
upon the blessed life restored to it by the skill 
and bravery of Hiku. 

No more troubles arose to darken the lives of 
the children of Ku. Whether in the forest or 
by the sea they made the days pleasant for each 
other until at the appointed time together they 
entered the shades of Milu as chief and chiefess 
who could not be separated. It is said that the 
generations of their children gave many rulers 
to the Hawaiians, and that the present royal 
family, the “House of Kalakaua,” is the last of 
the descendants. 




KEWA, A MAORI GIRL 
















PART II 


DESCRIPTION 


• THE DECEIVING OF KEWA 

A poem, or mourning chant, of the Maoris of New Zealand 
has many references to the deeds of their ancestors in Hawaiki, 
which in this case surely has reference to the Hawaiian 
Islands. Among the first lines of this poem is the expres¬ 
sion, “Kewa was deceived.” An explanatory note is given 
which covers almost two pages of the Journal of the Poly¬ 
nesian Society in which the poem is published. In this 
note the outline of the story of the deceiving of Kewa is 
quite fully translated, and is substantially the same as “The 
Bride from the Under-world.” 

“The Deceiving of Kewa,” as the New Zealand story is 
called, has this record among the Maoris. “This narrative 
is of old, of ancient times, very, very old. ‘The Deceiving 
of Kewa’ is an old, old story.” Milu in some parts of the 
Pacific is the name of the place where the spirits of the dead 
dwell. Sometimes it is the name of the ruler of that place. 
In this ancient New Zealand legend it takes the place of 
Hiku, and is the name of the person who goes down into the 
depths after his bride, while the spirit-king is called Kewa, 
a part of the name Kewalu, which was the name of the 
Hawaiian bride whose ghost was brought back from the 
grave. 

This, then, is the New Zealand legend, “The Deceiving of 
Kewa.” There once lived in Hawaiki a chief and his wife. 
They had a child, a girl, born to them; then the mother 
died. The chief took another wife, who was not pleasing 
to the people. His anger was so great that the chief went 
away to the great forest of Tane (the god Kane in Hawaiian), 
and there built a house for himself and his wife. 

After a time a son was born to them and the father named 
him Miru. This father was a great tohunga (kahuna), or 



242 


DESCRIPTION 


priest, as well as a chief. He taught Miru all the supreme 
kinds of knowledge, all the invocations and incantations, those 
for the stars, for the winds, for foods, for the sea, and for the 
land. He taught him the peculiar incantations which would 
enable him to meet all cunning tricks and enmities of man. 
He learned also all the great powers of witchcraft. It is 
said that on one occasion Miru and his father went to a river, 
a great river. Here the child experimented with his power¬ 
ful charms. He was a child of the forest and knew the 
charm which could conquer the trees. Now there was a 
tall tree growing by the side of the river. When Miru saw 
it he recited his incantations. As he came to the end the 
tree fell, the head reaching right across the river. They 
left the tree lying in this way that it might be used as a 
bridge by the people who came to the river. Thus he was 
conscious of his power to correctly use the mighty invocations 
which his father had taught him. 

The years passed and the boy became a young man. His 
was a lonely life, and he often wondered if there were not 
those who could be his companions. At last he asked his 
parents: “Are we here, all of us? Have I no other relative 
in the world? ” 

His parents answered, “You have a sister, but she dwells 
at a distant place.” 

When Miru heard this he arose and proceeded to search 
for his sister, and he happily came to the very place where 
she dwelt. There the young people were gathered in their 
customary place for playing teka (Hawaiian keha). The 
teka was a dart which was thrown along the ground, usually 
the hard beach of the seashore. Miru watched the game for 
some time and then returned to his home in the forest. He 
told his father about the teka and the way it was played. 
Then the chief prepared a teka for Miru, selected from the 
best tree and fashioned while appropriate charms were 
repeated. 

Miru threw his dart along the slopes covered by the forest 
and its underbrush, but the ground was uneven and the 
undergrowth retarded the dart. Then Miru found a plain 
and practised until he was very expert. 

After a while he came to the place where his sister lived. 
When the young people threw their darts he threw his. Aha! 
it flew indeed and was lost in the distance. When the sister 
beheld him she at once felt a great desire toward him. 


THE DECEIVING OF KEWA 


243 


The people tried to keep Miru with them, pleading with 
him to stay, and even following him as he returned to his 
forest home, but they caught him not. Frequently he re¬ 
peated his visits, but never stayed long. 

The sister, whose name is not given in the New Zealand le¬ 
gends, was disheartened, and hanged herself until she was 
dead. The body was laid in its place for the time of wailing. 
Miru and his father came to the uhunga, or place of mourning. 
The people had not known that Miru was the brother of the 
one who was dead. They welcomed the father and son 
according to their custom. Then the young man said, 
“After I leave, do not bury my sister.” So the body was left 
in its place when the young man arose. 

He went on his way till he saw a canoe floating. He then 
gave the command to his companions and they all paddled 
away in the canoe. They paddled on for a long distance, in 
fact to Rerenga-wai-rua, the point of land in New Zealand 
from which the spirits of the dead take their last leap as they 
go down to the Under-world. When they reached this place 
they rested, and Miru let go the anchor. He then said to 
his companions, “When you see the anchor rope shaking, 
pull it up, but wait here for me.” 

The young man then leaped into the water and went down, 
down near the bottom, and then entered a cave. This cave 
was the road by which the departed spirits went to spirit- 
land. Miru soon saw a house standing there. It was the 
home of Kewa, the chief of the Under-world. Within the 
house was his sister in spirit form. 

Miru carried with him his nets which were given magic 
power, with which he hoped to catch the spirit of his sister. 
In many ways he endeavored to induce her ghost to come 
forth from the house of Kewa, but she would not come. He 
commenced whipping his top in the yard outside, but could 
not attract her attention. At last he set up a swing and 
many of the ghosts joined in the pastime. For a long time the 
sister remained within, but eventually came forth induced 
by the attraction of the swing and by the appearance of Miru. 
Miru then took the spirit in his arms and began to swing. 

Higher and higher they rose whilst he incited the ghosts 
to increase to the utmost the flight of the moari, or swing.. On 
reaching the highest point he gathered the spirit of the sister 
into his net, then letting go the swing away they flew and 
alighted quite outside the spirit-land. 


244 


DESCRIPTION 


Thence he went to the place where the anchor of the floating 
canoe was. Shaking the rope his friends understood the 
signal. He was drawn up with the ghost in his net. He 
entered the canoe and returned home. On arrival at the 
settlement the people were still lamenting. What was that 
to him? Taking the spirit he laid it on the dead body, at the 
same time reciting his incantations. The spirit gradually 
entered the body and the sister was alive again. This is the 
end of the narrative, but it is of old, of ancient times, very, 
very old. “The Deceiving of Kewa” is an old, old story. 

In the Maori poem in which the reference to Kewa is made 
which brought out the above translation of one of the old 
New Zealand stories are also many other references to semi- 
historical characters and events. At the close of the poem 
is the following note: “The lament is so full of references to 
the ancient history of the Maoris that it would take a volume 
to explain them all. Most of the incidents referred to oc¬ 
curred in Hawaiki before the migration of the Maoris to New 
Zealand or at least five hundred to six hundred years ago.” 

Another New Zealand legend ought to be noticed in con¬ 
nection with the Hawaiian story of Hiku (Miru, New Zealand) 
seeking his sister in the Under-world. In what is probably 
the more complete Hawaiian story Hiku had a magic arrow 
which flew long distances and led him to the place where his 
sister-wife could be found. 

In a New Zealand legend a magic dart leads a chief by the 
name of Tama in his search for his wife, who had been carried 
away to spirit-land. He threw the dart and followed it from 
place to place until he found a wrecked canoe, near which 
lay the body of his wife and her companions. He tried to 
bring her back to life, but his incantations were not strong 
enough to release the spirit. 

Evidently the Hawaiian legend became a little fragmen¬ 
tary while being transplanted from the Hawaiian Islands to 
New Zealand. Hiku, the young chief who overcomes Miru 
of the spirit-world, loses his name entirely. Kewalu, the 
sister, also loses her name, a part of which, Kewa, is given 
to the ruler of the Under-world, and the magic dart is placed 
in the hands of Tama in an entirely distinct legend which 
still keeps the thought of the wife-seeker. There can scarcely 
be any question but that the original legend belongs to the 
Hawaiian Islands, and was carried to New Zealand in the 
days of the sea-rovers. 


HOMELESS AND DESOLATE GHOSTS 245 


HOMELESS AND DESOLATE GHOSTS 

The spirits of the dead, according to a summary of ancient 
Hawaiian statements, were divided into three classes, each 
class bearing the prefix “ao,” which meant either the en¬ 
lightened or instructed class, or simply a crowd or number of 
spirits grouped together. 

The first class, the Ao-Kuewa, were the desolate and the 
homeless spirits who during their residence in the body had 
no friends and no property. 

The second class was called the Ao-Aumakuas. These were 
the groups of ghost-gods or spirit-ancestors of the Hawaiians. 
They usually remained near their old home as helpful pro¬ 
tectors of the family to which they belonged, and were wor¬ 
shipped by the family. 

The third class was the Ao-o-Milu. Milu was the chief god 
of the Under-world throughout the greater part of Polynesia. 
Many times the Under world itself bore the name of Milu. 
The Ao-o-Milu were the souls of the departed of both the 
preceding classes who had performed all tasks, passed all 
barriers, and found their proper place in the land of the king 
of ghosts. 

The old Hawaiians never intelligently classified these 
departed spirits and sometimes mixed them together in inex¬ 
tricable confusion, but in the legends and remarks of early 
Hawaiian writers these three classes are roughly sketched. 
The desolate ghost had no right to call any place its home, 
to which it could come, over which it could watch, and around 
which it could hover. It had to go to the desolate parts of 
the islands or into a wilderness or forest. 

The homeless ghost had no one to provide even the shadow 
of food for it. It had to go into the dark places and search 
for butterflies, spiders, and other insects. These were the 
ordinary food for all ghosts unless there were worshippers 
to place offerings on secret altars, which were often dedicated 
to gain a special power of praying other people to death. Such 
ghosts were well cared for, but, on the other hand, the desolate 
ones must wander and search until they could go down into 
the land of Milu. 

There were several ways which the gods had prepared for 


246 


DESCRIPTION 


ghosts to use in this journey to the Under-world. It is inter¬ 
esting to note that all through Polynesia as well as in the 
Hawaiian Islands the path for ghosts led westward. 

The students of New Zealand folk-lore will say that this 
signified the desire of those about to die to return to the land 
of their ancestors beyond the western ocean. 

The paths were called Leina-a-ka-uhane (paths-for-leaping- 
by-the-spirit). They were almost always on bold bluffs 
looking westward over the ocean. The spirit unless driven 
back could come to the headland and leap down into the land 
of the dead, but when this was done that spirit could never 
return to the body it had left. Frequently connected with 
these Leina-a-ka-uhane was a breadfruit-tree which would 
be a gathering-place for ghosts. 

At these places there were often friendly ghosts who 
would help and sometimes return the spirit to the body or 
send it to join the Ao-Aumakuas (ancestor ghosts). At the 
place of descent it was said there was an owawa (ditch) 
through which the ghosts one by one were carried down to 
Po, and Lei-lono was the gate where the ghosts were killed 
as they went down. Near this gateway was the Ulu-o-lei- 
walo, or breadfruit-tree of the spirits. This tree had two 
branches, one toward the east and one toward the west, 
both of which were used by the ghosts. One was for leaping 
into eternal darkness into Po-pau-ole, the other as a meeting- 
place with the helpful gods. 

This tree always bore the name Ulu-o-lei-walo (the- 
quietly-calling-breadfruit-tree). On the island of Oahu, 
one of these was said to have been at Kaena Point; another 
was in Nuuanu Valley. 

The desolate ghost would come to this meeting-place of 
the dead and try to find a ghost of the second class, the 
aumakuas, who had been one of his ancestors and who still 
had some family to watch over. Perhaps this one might 
entertain or help him. 

If the ghost could find no one to take him, then he would 
try to wander around the tree and leap into the branches. 
The rotten, dead branches of the tree belonged to the spirits. 
When they broke and fell, the spirits on them dropped into 
the land of Milu—the under-world home of ghosts. Often 
the spirit could leap from these dead branches into the Under¬ 
world. 

Sometimes the desolate spirit would be blown, as by the 


KIKAKAPU 












HOMELESS AND DESOLATE GHOSTS 247 

wind, back and forth, here and there, until no possible place 
of rest could be found on the island where death had come; 
then the ghost would leap into the sea, hoping to find the way 
to Milu through some sea-cave. Perhaps the waves would 
carry the ghost, or it might be able to swim to one of the 
other islands, where a new search would be made for some 
ancestor-ghost from which to obtain help. Not finding 
aid, it would be pushed and driven over rough, rocky places 
and through the wilderness until it again went into the sea. 
At last perhaps a way would be found into the home of the 
dead, and the ghost would have a place in which to live, 
or it might make the round through the wilderness again and 
again, until it could leap from a bluff, or fall from a rotten 
branch of the breadfruit-tree. 

A great caterpillar was the watchman on the eastern side 
of the leaping-off place. Napaha was the western boundary. 
A mo-o (dragon) was the watchman on that side. If the 
ghost was afraid of them it went back to secure the help 
of the ghost-gods in order to get by. The Hawaiians were 
afraid that these watchmen would kill ghosts if possible. 

If a caterpillar obstructed the way it would raise its head 
over the edge of the bluff, and then the frightened ghost 
would go far out of its way, and wandering around be destroyed 
or compelled to leap off some dead branch into eternal dark¬ 
ness. But if that frightened ghost, while wandering, could 
find a helpful ghost god, it would be kept alive, although 
still a wanderer over the islands. 

At the field of kaupea (coral) near Barbers Point, in the 
desert of Puuloa, the ghosts would go around among the lehua 
flowers, catching spiders, butterflies, and insects for food, 
where the ghost-gods might find them and give them aid in 
escaping the watchmen. 

There are many places for the Leina-a-ka-uhane (leaping- 
off-places) and the Ulu-o-lei-walo (breadfruit-trees) on all the 
islands. To these places the wandering desolate ghosts went 
to find a way to the Under-world. 

Another name for the wandering ghosts was lapu, also 
sometimes called Akua-hele-loa (great travellers). These 
ghosts were frequently those who enjoyed foolish, silly 
pranks. They would sweep over the old byways in troops, 
dancing and playing. They would gather around the old 
mats where the living had been feasting, and sit and feast on 
imaginary food. 


248 


DESCRIPTION 


The Hawaiians say: “On one side of the island Oahu, 
even to this day the lapu come at night. Their ghost drums 
and sacred chants can be heard and their misty forms seen 
as they hover about the ruins of the old heiaus (temples).” 

The fine mists or fogs of Manoa Valley were supposed to 
conceal a large company of priests and their attendants while 
roaming among the great stones which still lie where there 
was a puu-honua (refuge-temple) in the early days. If any 
one saw these roving ghosts he was called lapu-ia, or one to 
whom spirits had appeared. 

The Hawaiians said: “The lapu ghosts were not supposed 
to watch over the welfare of the persons they met. They 
never went into the heavens to become black clouds, bringing 
rain for the benefit of their households. They did not go 
out after winds to blow with destructive force against their 
enemies. This was the earnest work of the ancestor-ghosts, 
and was not done by the lapu.” 

Another name for ghosts was wai-lua, which referred 
especially to the spirit leaving the body and supposed to 
have been seen by some one. This wai-lua spirit could be 
driven back into the body by other ghosts, or persuaded to 
come back through offerings or incantations given by living 
friends, so that a dead person could become alive again. 

It was firmly believed that a person could endure many 
deaths, and that if any one lost consciousness he was dead, 
and that when life stopped it was because the spirit left 
the body. When life was renewed it was because the spirit 
had returned to its former home. 

The kino-wai-lua was a ghost leaving the body of a living 
person and returning after a time, as when any one fainted. 

Besides the ghosts of the dead, the Hawaiians gave spirit 
power to all natural objects. Large stones were supposed 
to have dragon power sometimes. 


AUMAKUAS, OR ANCESTOR-GHOSTS 249 


AUMAKUAS, OR ANCESTOR-GHOSTS 

There are two meanings to the first part of this word, for 
“au” means a multitude, as in “auwaa” (many canoes), but 
it may mean time and place, as in the following: “Our 
ancestors thought that if there was a desolate place where 
no loan could be found, it was the aumakua (place of many 
gods).” “Makua” was the name given to the ancestors of 
a chief and of the people as well as to parents. 

The aumakuas were the ghosts who did not go down into 
Po, the land of King Milu. They were in the land of the 
living, hovering around the families from which they had 
been separated by death. They were the guardians of these 
families. 

When any one died, many devices were employed in dispos¬ 
ing of the body. The fact that an enemy of the family 
might endeavor to secure the bones of the dead for the pur¬ 
pose of making them into fish-hooks, arrow-heads, or spear¬ 
heads led the surviving members of a family either to destroy 
or to conceal the body of the dead. For if the bones were 
so used it meant great dishonor, and the spirit was supposed 
to suffer on account of this indignity. 

Sometimes the flesh was stripped from the bones and cast 
into the ocean or into the fires of the volcanoes, that the ghost 
might be made a part of the family ghosts who lived in such 
places, and the bones were buried in some secret cave or pit, 
or folded together in a bundle, and these were called unihipili. 
The unihipili bones were used in connection with a strange 
belief called pule-ana-ana (praying to death). 

When the body of a dead person was to be hidden, only 
two or three men were employed in the task. Sometimes 
the one highest in rank would slay his helpers so that no 
one except himself would know the burial-place. 

The tools, the clothing, and the calabashes of the dead 
were, unclean until certain ceremonies of purification had 
been faithfully performed. Many times these possessions 
were either placed in the burial-cave beside the body or burned 
so that they might be the property of the spirit in ghost- 
land. 


250 


DESCRIPTION 


The people who cared for the body had to bathe in salt 
water and separate themselves from the family for a time. 
They must sprinkle the house and all things inside with salt 
water. After a few days the family would return and occupy 
the house once more. 

Usually the caretakers of a dead body would make a hole 
in the side of the house and push it through rather than take 
it through the old doorway, probably having the idea that 
the ghost would only know the door through which the 
body had gone out when alive and so could not find the new 
way back when the opening was closed. 

After death came, the ghost crept out of the body, coming 
up from the feet until it rested in the eyes, and then it came 
out from the corner of one eye, and had a kind of wind body. 
It could pass around the room and out of doors through 
any opening it could find. It could perch like a bird on the 
roof of a house or in the branches of trees, or it could seat 
itself on logs or stones near the house. It might have to 
go back into the body and make it live again. Possibly 
the ghost might meet some old ancestor-ghosts and be led 
so far away that it could not return; then it must become a 
member of the aumakua, or ancestor-ghost, family, or wander 
off to join the homeless desolate ghost vagabonds. 

Sometimes dead bodies were thrown into the sea with the 
hope that the ghost body would become a shark or an eel, 
or perhaps a mo-o, or dragon-god, to be worshipped with other 
ancestor-gods of the same class. 

Sometimes the body or the bones would be cast into the 
crater of Kilauea, the people thinking the spirit would become 
a flame of fire like Pele, the goddess of volcanoes; other 
spirits went into the air concealed in the dark depths of the 
sky, perhaps in the clouds. 

Here they carried on the work needed to help their families. 
They would become fog or mist or the fine misty rain colored 
by light. With these the Rainbow Maiden, Anuenue, delighted 
to dwell. They often lived in the great rolling white clouds, or 
in the gray clouds which let fall the quiet rain needed for 
farming. They also lived in the fierce black thunder-clouds 
which sent down floods of a devastating character upon the 
enemies of the family to which they belonged. 

There were ghost ancestors who made their homes near the 
places where the members of their families toiled; there were 
ancestor-ghosts to take care of the tapa, or kapa, makers, or 


AUMAKUAS, OR ANCESTOR-GHOSTS 


2 5 I 


the calabash or house or canoe makers. There were special 
ancestor-ghosts called upon by name by the farmers, the 
fishermen, and the bird-hunters. These ghosts had their 
own kuleanas, or places to which they belonged, and in which 
they had their own peculiar duties and privileges. They 
became ancestor ghost-gods and dwelt on the islands near 
the homes of their worshippers, or in the air above, or in the 
trees around the houses, or in the ocean or in the gloving 
fires of volcanoes. They even dwelt in human beings, making 
them shake or sneeze as with cold, and then a person was 
said to become an ipu, or calabash containing a ghost. 

Sometimes it was thought that a ghost-god could be seen 
sitting on the head or shoulder of the person to whom it 
belonged. Even in this twentieth century a native woman 
told the writer that she saw a ghost-god whispering in his ear 
while he was making an address. She said, “That ghost 
was like a fire or a colored light.” Many times the Hawaiians 
have testified that they believed in the presence of their 
ancestor ghost-gods. 

This is the way the presence of a ghost was detected: 
Some sound would be heard, such as a sibilant noise, a soft 
whistle, or something like murmurs, or some sensation in a 
part of the body might be felt. If an eyelid trembled, a 
ghost was sitting on that spot. A quivering or creepy feeling 
in any part of the body meant that a ghost was touching that 
place. If any of these things happened, a person would cry 
out, “I have seen or felt a spirit of the gods.” 

Sometimes people thought they saw the spirits of their 
ghost friends. They believed that the spirits of these friends 
appeared in the night, sometimes to kill any one who was 
in the way. The high chiefs and warriors are supposed to 
march and go in crowds, carrying their spears and piercing 
those they met unless some ghost recognized that one and 
called to the others, “Alia [wait],” but if the word was “O-i-o 
[throw the spear]!” then that spirit’s spear would strike 
death to the passer-by. 

There were night noises which the natives attributed to 
sounds or rustling motions made by such night gods as the 
following: 

Akua-hokio (whistling gods). • 

“ -kiei (peeping gods). 

“ -nalo (prying gods). 

“ -loa (long gods). 

“ -poko (short gods). 

“ -muki (sibilant gods). 



252 


DESCRIPTION 


A prayer to these read thus: 

“O Akua-loa! [long god] 

O Akua-poko! [short god] 

O Akua-muki! [god breathing in short, sibilant breaths 
O Akua-hokio! [god blowing like whistling winds] 

O Akua-kiei! [god watching, peeping at one] 

O Akua-nalo! [god hiding, slipping out of sight] 

O All ye Gods, who travel on the dark night paths! 

Come and eat. 

Give life to me, 

And my parents, 

And my children, 

To us who are living in this place. Amama [Amen].” 

This prayer was offered every night as a protection against 
the ghosts. 

The aumakuas were very laka (tame and helpful). It was 
said that an aumakua living in a shark would be very laka, 
and would come to be rubbed on the head, opening his mouth 
for a sacrifice. Perhaps some awa, or meat, would be placed 
in his mouth, and then he would go away. So also if the au¬ 
makua were a bird, it would become tame. If it were the 
alae (a small duck), it would come to the hand of its wor¬ 
shipper; if the pueo (owl), it would come and scratch the 
earth away from the grave of one of its worshippers, throwing 
the sand away with its wings, and would bring the body 
back to life. An owl ancestor-god would come and set a 
worshipper free were he a prisoner with hands and feet bound 
by ropes. 

It made no difference whether the dead person were male 
or female, child or aged one, the spirit could become a ghost- 
god and watch over the family. 

There were altars for the ancestor-gods in almost every land. 
These were frequently only little piles of white coral, but 
sometimes chiefs would build a small house for their ancestor- 
gods, thus making homes that the ghosts might have a kuleana, 
or place of their own, where offerings could be placed, and 
prayers offered, and rest enjoyed. 

The Hawaiians have this to say about sacrifices for the 
aumakuas: If a mo-o, or dragon-god, was angry with its 
caretaker or his family and they became weak and sick, 
they would sacrifice a spotted dog with awa, red fish, red 
sugar-cane, and some of the grass growing in taro patches 
wrapped in yellow kapa. This they would take to the lua, 
or hole, where the mo-o dwelt, and fasten the bundle there. 
Then the mo-o would become pleasant and take away the 


AUMAKUAS, OR ANCESTOR-GHOSTS 253 

sickness. If it were a shark-god, the sacrifice was a black pig, 
a dark red chicken, and some awa wrapped in new white kapa 
made by a virgin. This bundle would be carried to the 
beach, where a prayer would be offered: 

“O aumakuas from sunrise to sunset, 

From North to South, from above and below, 

O spirits of the precipice and spirits of the sea, 

All who dwell in flowing waters, 

Here is a sacrifice—our gifts are to you. 

Bring life to us, to all the family, 

• To the old people with wrinkled skin, 

To the young also. 

This is our life, 

From the gods.” 


Then the farmer would throw the bundle into the sea, bury 
the chicken alive, take the pig to the temple, then go back to 
his house looking for rain. If there was rain, it showed that 
the aumakua had seen the gifts and washed away the wrong. 
If the clouds became black with heavy rain, that was well. 

The offerings for Pele and Hiiaka were awa to drink and food 
to eat, in fact all things which could be taken to the crater. 

This applies to the four great gods, Kane, Ku, Lono, and 
Kanaloa. They are called the first of the ancestors. Each 
one of these was supposed to be able to appear in a number 
of different forms, therefore each had a number of names 
expressive of the work he intended or was desired to do. An 
explanatory adjective or phrase was added to the god’s own 
name, defining certain acts or characteristics, thus: Kane- 
puaa (Kane, the pig) was Kane who would aid in stirring up 
the ground like a pig. 

This is one of the prayers used when presenting offerings 
to aumakuas, “O Aumakuas of the rising of the sun, guarded 
by every tabu staff, here are offerings and sacrifices—the 
black pig, the white chicken, the black cocoanut, the red 
fish—sacrifices for the gods and all the aumakuas; those of 
the ancestors, those of the night, and of the dawn, here am I. 
Let life come.” 

The ancestor-gods were supposed to use whatever object 
they lived with. If ghosts went up into the clouds, they 
moved the clouds from place to place and made them assume 
such shapes as might be fancied. Thus they would reveal 
themselves over their old homes. 

All the aumakuas were supposed to be gentle and ready to 
help their own families. The old Hawaiians say that the 


2 54 


DESCRIPTION 


power of the ancestor-gods was very great. “Here is the 
magic power. Suppose a man would call his shark, ‘O Kuhai- 
moana [the shark-god]! O, the One who lives in the Ocean! 
Take me to the land!’ Then perhaps a shark would appear, 
and the man would get on the back of the shark, hold fast to 
the fin, and say: ‘You look ahead. Go on very swiftly with¬ 
out waiting.’ Then the shark would swim swiftly to the 
shore.” 

The old Hawaiians had the sport called “lua.” This some¬ 
times meant wrestling, but usually was the game of catching 
a man, lifting him up, and breaking his body so that he was 
killed. A wrestler of the lua class would go out to a plain 
where no people were dwelling and call his god Kuialua. 
The aumakua ghost-god would give this man strength and 
skill, and help him to kill his adversaries. 

There were many priests of different classes who prayed to 
the ancestor-gods. Those of the farmers prayed like this: 

“O great black cloud in the far-off sky, 

O shadow watching shadow, 

Watch over our land. 

Overshadow our land 
From corner to corner 
From side to side. 

Do not cast your shadow on other lands 
Nor let the waters fall on the other lands 
[/.«., keep the rains over my place].” 

Also they prayed to Kane-puaa (Kane, the pig), the great 
aumakua of farmers: 

‘ ‘ O Kane-puaa, root! 

Dig inland, dig toward the sea; 

Dig from corner to corner, 

From side to side; 

Let the food grow in the middle, 

Potatoes on the side roots, 

Fruit in the centre. 

Do not root in another place! 

The people may strike you with the spade [o-o] 

Or hit you with a stone 

And hurt you. Amama [Amen].” 

So also they prayed to Kukea-olo-walu (a taro aumakua 
god): 

“O Kukea-olo-walu! 

Make the taro grow. 

Let the leaf spread like a banana. 

Taro for us, O Kukea! 

The banana and the taro for us. 

Pull up the taro for us, O Kukea! 

Pound the taro. 


AUMAKUAS, OR ANCESTOR-GHOSTS 255 


Make the fire for cooking the pig. 

Give life to us— 

To the farmers— 

From sunrise to sunset 

From one fastened place to the other fastened place 
[i.e., one side of the sky to the other fastened on each side of the 
earth]. Amama [Amen].” 

Trees with their branches and fruit were frequently en¬ 
dowed with spirit power. All the different kinds of birds 
and even insects, and also the clouds and winds and the fish 
in the seas were given a place among the spirits around the 
Hawaiians. 

The people believed in life and its many forms of power. 
They would pray to the unseen forces for life for themselves 
and their friends, and for death to come on the families of 
their enemies. They had special priests and incantations 
for the pule-ana-ana, or praying to death, and even tQ the 
present time the supposed power to pray to death is one of 
the most formidable terrors to their imagination. 

Menehunes, eepas, and kupuas were classes of fairies or 
gnomes which did not belong to the ancestor-gods, or au- 
makuas. 

The menehunes were fairy servants. Some of the Polyne¬ 
sian Islands called the lowest class of servants “manahune.” 
The Hawaiians separated them almost entirely from the 
spirits of ancestors. They worked at night performing 
prodigious tasks which they were never supposed to touch 
again after the coming of dawn. 

The eepas were usually deformed and defective gnomes. 
They suffered from all kinds of weakness, sometimes having 
no bones and no more power to stand than a large leaf. 
They were sometimes set apart as spirit caretakers of little 
children. Nuuanu Valley was the home of a multitude of 
eepas who had their temple on the western side of the 
valley. 

Kupuas were the demons of ghost-land. They were very 
powerful and very destructive. No human being could 
withstand their attacks unless specially endowed with 
power from the gods. They had animal as well as human 
bodies and could use whichever body seemed to be most 
available. The dragons, or mo-os, were the most terrible 
kupuas in the islands. 


256 


DESCRIPTION 


THE DRAGON GHOST-GODS 

Dragons were among the ghost-gods of the ancient 
Hawaiians. These dragons were called mo-o. The New 
Zealanders used the same names for some of their large reptile 
gods. They, however, spelled the word with a “k,” calling 
it mo-ko, and it was almost identical in pronunciation as in 
meaning with the Hawaiian name. Both the Hawaiians 
and New Zealanders called all kinds of lizards mo-o or mo-ko; 
and their use of this word in traditions showed that they 
often had in mind animals like crocodiles and alligators, and 
sometimes they referred the name to any monster of great 
mythical powers belonging to a man-destroying class. 

Mighty eels, immense sea-turtles, large fish of the ocean, 
fierce sharks, were all called mo-o. The most ancient dragons 
of the Hawaiians are spoken of as living in pools or lakes. 
These dragons were known also as kupuas, or mysterious 
characters who could appear as animals or human beings 
according to their wish. The saying was: “Kupuas have a 
strange double body.” 

There were many other kupuas besides those of the dragon 
family. It was sometimes thought that at birth another 
natural form was added, such as an egg of a fowl or a bird, 
or the seed of a plant, or the embryo of some animal, which 
when fully developed made a form which could be used as 
readily as the human body. These kupuas were always 
given some great magic power. They were wonderfully 
strong and wise and skilful. 

Usually the birth of a kupua, like the birth of a high chief, 
was attended with strange disturbances in the heavens, such 
as reverberating thunder, flashing lightning, and severe 
storms which sent the abundant red soil of the islands down 
the mountain-sides in blood-red torrents known as ka-ua-koko 
(the blood rain). This name was also given to misty fine rain 
when shot through by the red waves of the sun. 

By far the largest class of kupuas was that of the dragons. 
These all belonged to one family. Their ancestor was Mo-o- 
inanea (The Self-reliant Dragon), who figured very promi¬ 
nently in the Hawaiian legends of the most ancient times, 
such as “The Maiden of the Golden Cloud.” 


THE DRAGON GHOST-GODS 


257 


Mo-o-inanea (The Self-reliant Dragon) brought the 
dragons, the kupua dragons, from the “Hidden Land of 
Kane” to the Hawaiian Islands. Mo-o-inanea was appar¬ 
ently a demi-goddess of higher power even than the gods 
Ku, Kane, or Kanaloa. She was the great dragon-goddess 
of the Hawaiians, coming to the islands in the migration 
of the gods from Nuu-mea-lani and Kuai-he-lani to settle. 
The dragons and other kupuas came as spirit servants of the 
gods. 

For a while this Mo-o-inanea lived with her brothers, 
the gods, at Waolani, but after a long time there were so 
many dragons that it was necessary to distribute them over 
the islands, and Mo-o-inanea decided to leave her brothers 
and find homes for her numerous family. So she went down 
to Puunui in the lower part of Nuuanu Valley and there 
made her home, and it is said received worship from the 
men of the ancient days. Here she dwelt in her dual nature— 
sometimes appearing as a dragon, sometimes as a woman. 

Very rich clayey soil was found in this place, forced out 
of the earth as if by geyser action. It was greatly sought in 
later years by the chiefs who worshipped this goddess. They 
made the place tabu, and used the clay, sometimes eating it, 
but generally plastering the hair with it. This place was made 
very tabu by the late Queen Kaahumanu during her lifetime. 

Mo-o-inanea lived in the pit from which this clay was 
procured, a place called Lua-palolo, meaning pit-of-sticky- 
clay. After she had come to this dwelling-place the dragons 
were sent out to find homes. Some became chiefs and others 
servants, and when by themselves were known as the evil 
ones. She distributed her family over all the islands from 
Hawaii to Niihau. Two of these dragon-women, according 
to the legends, lived as guardians of the pali (precipice) at the 
end of Nuuanu Valley, above Honolulu. After many years 
it was supposed that they both assumed the permanent forms 
of large stones which have never lost their associations with 
mysterious, miraculous power. 

Even as late as 1825, Mr. Bloxam, the chaplain of the 
English man-of-war, recorded in “The Voyage of the Blonde” 
the following statement: 

“At the bottom of the Parre (pali) there are two large 
stones on which even now offerings of fruits and flowers are 
laid to propitiate the Aku-wahines, or goddesses, who are 
supposed to have the power of granting a safe passage.” 


DESCRIPTION 


258 

Mr. Bloxam says that these were a kind of mo-o, or reptile, 
goddesses, and adds that it was difficult to explain the mean¬ 
ing of the name given to them, probably because the Hawaiians 
had nothing in the shape of serpents or large reptiles in their 
islands. 

A native account of these stones says: “There is a large 
grove of hau-trees in Nuuanu Valley, and above these lie 
the two forest women, Hau-ola and Ha-puu. These are now 
two large stones, one being about three feet long with a fine 
smooth back, the other round with some little rough places. 
The long stone is on the seaward side, and this is the Mo-o 
woman, Hau-ola; and the other, Ha-puu. The leaves of 
ferns cover Hau-ola, being laid on that stone. On the other 
stone, Ha-puu, are lehua flowers. These are kupuas.” 

Again the old people said that their ancestors had been 
accustomed to bring the navel cords of their children and bury 
them under these stones to insure protection of the little ones 
from evil, and that these were the stone women of Nuuanu. 

Ala-muki lived in the deep pools of the Waialua River 
near the place Ka-mo-o-loa, which received its name from the 
long journeys that dragon made over the plains of Waialua. 
She and her descendants guarded the paths and sometimes 
destroyed those who travelled that way. 

One dragon lived in the Ewa lagoon, now known as Pearl 
Harbor. This was Kane-kua-ana, who was said to have 
brought the pipi (oysters) to Ewa. She was worshipped by 
those who gathered the shell-fish. When the oysters began 
to disappear about 1850, the natives said that the dragon 
had become angry and was sending the oysters to Kahiki, or 
some far-away foreign land. 

Kilioe, Koe, and Milolii were noted dragons on the island 
of Kauai. They were the dragons of the precipices of the 
northern coast of this island, who took the body of the high 
chief Lohiau and concealed it in a cave far up the steep side 
of the mountain. There is a very long interesting story of 
the love between Lohiau and Pele, the goddess of fire. In 
this story Pele overcame the dragons and won the love of 
the chief. Hiiaka, the sister of the fire-goddess, won a 
second victory over them when she rescued a body from the 
cave and brought it back to life. 

On Maui, the greatest dragon of the island was Kiha- 
wahine. The natives had the saying, “Kiha has mana, or 
miraculous power, like Mo-o-inanea.” She lived in a large 


THE DRAGON GHOST-GODS 


259 


deep pool on the edge of the village Lahaina, and was wor¬ 
shipped by the royal family of Maui as their special guardian. 

There were many dragons of the island of Hawaii, and the 
most noted of these were the two who lived in the Wailuku 
River near Hilo. They w'ere called “the moving boards” 
which made a bridge across the river. 

Sometimes they accepted offerings and permitted a safe 
passage, and sometimes they tipped the passengers into the 
water and drowned them. They were destroyed by Hiiaka. 

Sacred to these dragons who were scattered over all the 
islands were the mo-o priests and the sorcerers, who propi¬ 
tiated them with offerings and sacrifices, chanting incanta¬ 
tions. 


26 o 


DESCRIPTION 


THE HOME OF THE ANCESTORS 

The ancestors of the New Zealand Maoris have a definite 
ancestral home from which they came to New Zealand. This 
bears the name Hawaiki, which is the same as Hawai’i as also 
Savai’i in Samoa. Some students try to make Samoa the 
distributing centre from which the settlers of the various 
island groups of the Pacific started to find new homes. This 
theory has scarcely any foundation. 

Hawaii in some form of the word is found from Java on 
the western side of the Pacific to Tahiti on the eastern. Hon. 
L. Percy Smith of New Zealand says: “The universality of 
this name points to the fact that it is extremely ancient and 
that it was under that form the Fatherland was originally 
known. The way in which the name has been used proves 
the belief of the Polynesians in a western origin of the race 
now accepted as from India. Hawa in its many forms refers 
to rice fields, the great rice fields of Indonesia.” 

While Hawaii is used so frequently elsewhere, it is seldom 
named in the Hawaiian Islands as the ancestral home. For- 
nander, in “The Polynesian Race,” quotes from an ancient 
chant, “Hawaii with the green back and dotted sea,” and 
says this refers to the ancient far-away home of the Hawaiians. 
This reference stands almost alone, and therefore empha¬ 
sizes the statement that the word Hawaiian seldom refers 
to any land outside the group now called the Hawaiian 
Islands. This has probably come from the inability of the 
people to distinguish between a foreign Hawaii and a home 
Hawaii, although for centuries they have said “Hawaii nei,” 
meaning “the Hawaii in this spot,” as they say “hale nei,” 
meaning “this particular house in which we are.” Almost 
certainly this has no reference to an ancestral home. 

The Hawaiians, however, had one word for all outside 
lands. This was Kahiki or Tahiti. If any one sailed to any 
far-away place, east or west, he went to Kahiki. 

The ancient Hawaiian chants also mention places or rather 
islands in the western and southwestern parts of the Pacific 
Ocean, as Bolabola, Nuuhiwa, Wawau or Vavau, and Upolu. 
These places were visited by the Hawaiian sea-rovers several 
hundred years ago and the names preserved in meles, or 


THE HOME OF THE ANCESTORS 261 


chants. Usually these places are mentioned as located in 
the great mysterious outside world Kahiki. They are not 
called the home from which the forefathers came. They 
are only definite places visited by sea-roving Hawaiians in 
their long journeys to foreign lands. 

Besides this, there were some beautiful descriptive terms 
naming the ancestral islands or lands from which the “ancient 
ones came to Hawaii.” 

The most prominent was Kuai-he-lani or Kua-i-he-lani. 
Kuai-he-lani was defined by one of the best Hawaiian schol¬ 
ars as “the purchased heaven.” This, however, is a modern 
thought, read into it from theology. Another and better 
rendering is “the rubbing or grinding heaven,” as if the 
land had been stirred up by earthquakes or by strife among 
the inhabitants. If the name is Kua-i-he-lani, it means “a 
heaven lifted up in sharp ridges,” signifying that the people 
came from a land of high mountains with sharp peaks, a 
volcanic country. 

Kane-huna-moku (the hidden land of Kane) belonged more 
to the spirit world than the home of the ancestors. It was 
like an “ignis fatuus,” a thing which appeared and disap¬ 
peared. It was an enticing island, inviting boatmen to seek 
its shores and then disappearing as they came near. It was 
the Hawaiian dreamland. Nevertheless, sometimes it was 
mentioned as one of the places from which the ancestors 
came. 

Nuu-mea-lani (the raised dais of heaven), meaning a land 
with elevated plateaus and possibly rich valleys among high 
mountains, was a place from which many of the people of 
the past came to the new volcano land. Sometimes it simply 
means “cloud land.” 

Ulu-kaa (moving or floating forest) was, like Kane-huna- 
moku, an ocean island which had no abiding place. Storm- 
driven voyagers would see it through the mist clouds around 
them. They would put forth every effort to reach it and 
never find it, or, if found, its sweet fruits and fragrant flowers 
were like dust to those who ate or breathed them, ultimately 
bringing death. Nevertheless, Ulu-kaa was a land from which 
the ancestors came. 

Hapa-kuela is very seldom mentioned in the legends. Its 
meaning is very obscure. It is possible that it may be Ha- 
paku-wela. Then it might mean the burning or fiery por¬ 
tions or walls between land districts. This was a home of 


262 


DESCRIPTION 


Pele according to some of the Hawaiian legends, although 
most of them say that she came from Kuai-he-lani. 

Ke-alohi-lani (the shining or glorious heaven) was the land 
where the vivid imagination placed all things beautiful. It 
was the ancient land to be desired. Another interpretation, 
however, makes it the land of shining clouds, probably lit up 
by volcanic fires, reflecting the glory of the burning flames. 

Moku-mana-mana (the divided island) was some island 
projecting into the ocean like branches from a tree, an island 
with bays and inlets. This was one of the places to be desired 
among the different lands from which the ancestors came. 
Now it is only known as one of the ancestral places lying 
toward the sunset. 


APPENDIX 


HONOLULU AQUARIUM 

The Honolulu Aquarium is located in Kapiolani Park on 
the famous Waikiki Beach, about five miles from the centre 
of the city. From 600 to 1,000 fish, covering some 200 va¬ 
rieties of remarkable form and bewildering color, are on ex¬ 
hibition here, forming one of the finest collections in the 
world. 

This Aquarium was built in 1904 by Mr. and Mrs. Chas. M. 
Cooke on land donated for the purpose by Mr. Jas. B. Castle, 
brother-in-law to Mr. Westervelt, the author, and is stocked 
and maintained by the Honolulu Rapid Transit Company. 
The plant has cost over $20,000, and is being added to and 
improved from time to time. The color plates included in 
this volume show only a few of these wonderful fish. 


BISHOP MUSEUM 

Mr. Chas. R. Bishop, who founded the Bishop Museum, 
died in California early in 1915, having just passed his ninety- 
third birthday. He was born in Glens Falls, N.Y., and sailed 
around Cape Horn to Hawaii in the early days before steam¬ 
ship communication. 

His wife, Berenice Pauahi, was a very high chiefess de¬ 
scended from the royal line of Kamehameha the Great. To 
her Kamehameha V. offered the throne, and on her refusal 
to espouse him remained a bachelor and died without heir. 
Mrs. Pauahi Bishop bequeathed her vast estate and fortune 
to found the schools for Hawaiian boys and girls, known as 
the Kamehameha Schools, Honolulu, and near these Mr. 
Bishop founded the Bishop Miiseum; which contains all the 



APPENDIX 


magnificent feather-cloaks, helmets, calabashes, etc., handed 
down from generation to generation through the royal line of 
the Kamehamehas and inherited by Mrs. Bishop. This has 
been greatly increased by other gifts and purchases and now 
forms the finest museum in the world, of relics of the Poly¬ 
nesian race. 


MELES 

“The history of Hawaii can be traced only through the 
ancient meles, poems without rhyme or metre, but strictly 
accented, often several hundred lines in length, handed down 
orally from one generation to another. The mele included 
all forms of poetical composition intended for chanting. 
They are usually divided into four groups, as the religious 
chants, prayers, and prophecies; the inoas, or name songs 
composed at birth of a chief recounting heroic deeds of his 
ancestors; the kanikaus, or dirges for the dead; the ipos, 
or love songs.—All the modern songs are love songs.— 

The cadencing consisted of a prolonged trilling or fluctuating 
movement called i-i, in which the voice went up and down 
in an interval less than a half-tone. This was used ex¬ 
tensively in the oli (a songful expression of joy, or a humorous 
narrative), which was even more lyric than the mele. 


HULA 

The modern hula is not the hula of ancient time. The 
hula combined pantomime, poetry, music, and the dance. 
It was enacted in honor of the goddess Laka and furnished 
entertainment for the chiefs and their retinues. It included 
the mysteries of Polynesian mythology and the history of 
the nation. It was given by trained and paid performers, 
as it was a difficult accomplishment and required long and 
rigid training in both song and dance. 

Hulas varied in dignity and rank, and the character was 
influenced by the musical instruments used, which were as 
follows: the ipu, a drum made of two large pear-shaped 
gourds of unequal size, joined together at the smaller ends, 


APPENDIX 


in which a hole was made to increase the resonance; the pahu, 
a drum made of coconut wood and covered with shark skin 
on its upper end, originally used in the heiaus and on rare 
occasions in the halau; the puniu used with the pahu, a small 
drum made from a coconut shell and fish skin, which was 
strapped to the thigh and played with a thong of braided 
fibres; the uli uli, a small gourd filled with seeds; the puili, 
bamboo sticks splintered into fine divisions at one end and 
giving a rustling sound like wind; the laau, two pieces of 
resonant wood; the ili ili, two pebbles used like castanets; 
the ukeke, something like a jewVharp—the strings being 
plucked with ribs of grass; the conch shell, or trumpet; the 
pua, a small gourd; and the ohe, or nose flute. 

The ukelele, a small guitar having only four strings, now 
used was introduced in the time of Kalakaua and is modern. 
It affords, however, an effective accompaniment for the deep, 
rich quality of the Hawaiian voices. 

The halau was a flat-topped open structure covered usually 
with coconut leaves specially erected for the performance of 
the hula and to which leis and awa were brought as emblems 
of light-heartedness and joy. In every halau there was a 
bower of green leaves which were supposed to be the abode 
of the presiding deity. The devotees of the hula worshipped 
many gods, but the goddess Laka was the patron to whom 
special prayers and offerings were made.” 

(Excerpt from an article by Helen G. Cadwell.— Thrum's Annual, iqi6.) 


APPENDIX 


PARTIAL LIST OF HAWAIIAN TERMS USED 


aalamanu, 198. 

Ah aula, 2. 

Aikanaka, 49, 50, 57, 58. 
aikane, 133,137. 
aka,158. „ 
akala, 161. 

Akaaka, 88, 90, 92. 

Akoakoa, 170. 

Akuapohaku,75. 
ala, 201. 
alanui, 105. 
alii, 7, 50, 208. 

Aliiwahine, 120. 

Aloha, 82, 215. 

aloha, 105, 166-168, 178, 215. 
amama, 199, 205. 

Anaopuhi, 57. 

Anuenue, 48, 84,117-126, 134, 140, 
147,148. 

aoopua, etc., 128, 130. 
aopiikai, 140. 

Aukelenuiaku, 206. 

aumakua, 37, 47, 101, 103, 150, 173. 

auwe, 80, 239. 

auwaaolalua, 43. 

awa, 17, 79, 109, 164, 165, 186, 187, 
199, 207, 211, 213. 

Awela, 191. 

Ea, 212, 213. 

Eeke, 49. 

eepa, 46, 117, 141. 142, 144 , 150, 
207. 

Enaena, 5. 

Haehae, 210, 217. 

Haena, 197, 198. 

Hainakolo, 178-180, 186-204. 
hala, 39, 201. 

Halulu, 66-73. 

Hamakua, 133, 186, 197, 199, 205. 
hau,71. 

Haumea, 152, 154, 157, 160, 161. 
Haupu, 21-25. 

Hawaiinuiakea, 2, 4, 7, 118, 125, 
I 5 S- 

Heeia, 41, 148, 160. 

Heemakoko, 120. 


heenalu, 102. 

heiau, 2, 3, 49-51, 57, 179, 180. 
Hewahewa, 3. 

Hiku, 225-240. 

Hiiaka, 205, 206. 

Hiikalanui, 177, 197, 199. 

Hiilawe, 37, 47. 

Hiilaniwai, 136, 137. 

Hiilei, 132, 139, 143, 148, 163-176, 
180-184. 

Hilo, 95,122,124,132,186,190,191. 
Hina, 37-39. 45“48, 117-132, 139, 
142, 144, 148, 163, 164, 180, 181, 
191. 

Hinakekai, 213, 214. 

Hinalea, 158, 160. 

Hinole, 153-158. 
holua, 7. 

Honolulu, 14, 18, 74, 117. 

Honu, 212. 
honuhonu,102. 

Honualewa, 165. 

Hookena, 26. 
hookupu,189. 

Hou, 191. 

hula, 102, 137, 145-147, 204-207 
216. 

ieie, 39, 48, 113, 205, 230, 231. 
nwi, 38. 
imu, 28. 

Inaina, 77, 78. 
inalua, 159. 

Iwa, 121, 122. 

Kaakee. 114. 

Kaalii, 15. 

Kaaona, 170. 

Kaaoopuaola, 129. 

Kaena, 21, 24, 25. 

Kahala, 84-93. 

Kahanai, 120-126, 132, 141-148. 
Kahekili, 114, 115. 

Kahele, 7-12. 

Kahiki, 66, 116, 146, 150. 
kahili, 105, no. 

Kaholo, 36, 37, 195. 

Kahoolawe, 44, 46, 157 




HAWAIIAN TERMS 


kahu, 40, 52, 55, 220-222. 

Kahuku, 45, 49-58. 

Kahulaanu, 195. 

Kahuli, 163, 164, 168-172, 198. 
kahuna, 64, 66, 72, 87, 183, 186. 
Kaia, 194, 202. 

Kaiahe, 44. 

Kaikawainne, 84. 

Kaikuwai, 105. 

Kailiohae, 100-106. 

Kaipuo Lono, 120. 

Kakea, 36. 

Kakela* 163, 172, 184. 

Kakuhihevva, 16. 

Kalae, 5, 21, 95-99. 

Kalaipahoa, 108-115. 

Kalapana, 66. 

Kalakaua, 87, 92, 224, 240. 
Kalakoi, 113. 

Kalalaikawai, 122. 

Kalaniopua. 

Kalauokolea, 134. 

Kalaupapa, 51, 56. 

Kalawao, 51. 

Kalei, 60, 61, 210. 

Kalena, 136. 

Kalewanuu, 194. 

Kalei, 61. 

Kalewalani, 175. 

Kalihiuka, 160, 161. 

Kaloekeeke, 26, 28. 

Kaluaaka, 49, 50. 

Kaluahine, 178. 

Kamaahala, 201. 

Kamaka, 94. 

Kamakau, 75, 83. 

Kamakeloa, 104. 

Kamalo, 49-58. 

Kamehameha, 3, 108, 114, 115. 
Kamohoalii, 44, 45, 50, 61, 157. 
Kamoiliili, 84, 87. 

Kanaloa, 5, 15, 16, 117-124, 136, 
139 . 143 . 147 . 178, 199 - 
Kanamu, 184, 185, 188. 
Kaneiakama, m-113. 

Kanaula, 192. 

Kane, 5, 15, 16, 116, 1x7, 120-126, 
134-150, 164, 199, 206. 
Kanehekili, 124, 125. 
Kanehunamoku, 209. 

Kanikawi, 127. 

Kanuku, 133. 

kapa,61, 63,102,109, 112, 152, 164, 
171, 179, 187-189, 200, 201. 
Kapu, 5. 

Kaopuaua, 142. 

Kapalikalahale, 177. 

Kapo, 98, hi, 140, 141. 


Kapoekino, etc., 46. 

Kau, 9, 10, ix, 13, 28, 95, 156, 187. 
Kauakokoula, 145. 

Kauai, 21, 24, 25, 30, 40, 41, 43, 
1377139, 177 , 178,185. 

Kauhi, 85. 

Kaubika, 183. 

Kauhuku, 49. 

Kaukini, 36, 39. 

Kaula, 176, 219. 

Kaulanaikipokii, 132, 143-150, 184- 

188. 

Kaumailiula, 132, 139, 143-149. 
Kaunaha, 194. 

Kauwila, 181. 

Kawa, 191. 

Kawaihae, 178. 

Kawainui, 150. 

Kawelo, 191. 

Kawelona, 40-47. 

Keaau, 197. 

Keakeo-Milu, 97. 

Kealohilani, 127, 130-135, 138. 
Keaolewa, 193, 194. 

Keaomelemele, 116, 128, 131, 138- 
150. . 

Keaukai, 165, 171-177, 180-183, 
186, 189, 199, 200, 221. 

Keaumiki, 164, 172, 176, 180, 186, 

189, .197, 198. 

Keaunini, 163, 170-197, 202-208. 

215-219. 

Keauoku, 183. 

Keawalua, 145. 

Kekaa, 101. 

Kekeaaweaweulu, 188. 

Kekehoalani, 172. 

Kewa, 240. 

Kewalu, 224-240. 

Kihapu, 45. 

Kihawahine, 152, 157-162. 

Kilauea, 71, 157. 
kilokilo, 130. 
kilu, 99, 205, 235. 
koa, 26, 29, 32, 37, 85, 87. 
Koamano, 41. 

Kohala, 3, 178, 187, 191-193. 
kohipohaku, 29. 
koko,113. 

Kokua, 77, 78, 80. 

Kona, 26-28, 89, 224, 233, 239. 
konane, 99, 191,205. 

Konolii, 198. 

Koolaupoko, 149, 160. 

Kou, 144, 160. 
kou,193. 

Ku, 5, 39, 72, 117, 126, 131, 148, 
etc. 



APPENDIX 


kua, 178. 

Kuahailo, 163, 175, 204, 214. 
Kuaihelani, 116, 121, 122, 126-131, 
139, 170, 180, 183, 190-198, 212, 
214, 215, 218. 

Kuamuamu, 208. 

Kukali, 66-73. 

Kukalaakamanu, 42. 

Kukeanuenue, 170. 

Kukeaoloa, 129, 130. 

kukui, 11, 140, 166, 198, 227, 233. 

Kukuihaele, 95. 

kulakulai, 102. 

Kulioe, 235. 
kumafu, 14. 

Kumukahi, 211. 

Kumunuiaiake, 190. 

Kupa, 50-58. 

kupua, 46, 47, 71, 99, 125, 133, 135, 
139, 149, 200, 212, 214. 

Laamaikahiki, 59. 

Lahaina, 100, 160. 

Laiewai, 41, 214. 

Laka,14,125-205, 206. 

Lamakea, 125. 

Lanai, 157. 
lanai, 187, 189, 208. 

Lanihuli, 120. 

Lauanau, 40. 

Laukaiieie, 36, 39, 40-48. 

Laukoa, 40. 

Laukapah, 39. 
lehua, 167. 

Lehua, 42, 43, 44. 

Leiwalo, 18. 

Lewalani, 184, 192. 

Lihau, 44. 

Lihue, 40. 

Lilinoe, 171, 185. 

Limaloa, 190, 191. 
lipoa, 37- 
Lokoaka, 158. 

Lolokea, 191. 

Lolokaeha, 198. 

Lono, 5,94-99, 200-203, 206. 
Lonokai, 204, 205, 208. 
Lopoikihelewele, 196. 
loulou, 102. 

Lua Pele. 
luau, 191, 220. 
luauhane, 231. 

Luukia, 191, 195, 196, 200. 

Mahana, 87-90. 

Mahealani, 123. 
maika, 114, 153. 

Maile, 200. 


Maiola, 109. 

Makalei, 122, 123, 149, 150. 
Makanikau, 41-48. 

Makanikona, 193. 

Makuukao, 149. 
moo, 51, 52, 154, 165, 166. 
Makapuu, 149. 
malo, 47, 68, 188. 

Maluae, 14-19. 

Maluaka, 138. 

Mamala, 144. 

Mamo, 124. 

Mana, 43. 
mana, 43, 129, 204. 

Mamo, 52. 

Manoa, 14, 84, 88, 91, 93, 135. 
Maori, 240. 

Mapulehu, 50. 

Mauna Loa, 98, hi, 140. 

Mauna Kea, 45, 127, 131-134, 154 
155 - 

Maui, 44, 49, 56, 59, 64, 98, 100-114 

151, 156. 

mele, 147, 211, 236. 
menehune, 76, 141, 142-145, 150, 
.171, 185. 
milo, 216. 

Milu, 96-99, no, 179, 204, 216, 218, 
219,232-240. 
miru, 99. 

Moanaliha, 208. 

Moanalua, 18. 

Moho, 193, 194 (see Mohoalii and 
Mohonana). 

Mohoalii, 85 (see Kamohoalii). 
Mohonana, 175 (see Mooinanea). 
moi, 77. 

M01, 190. 

Moikeha, 59. 
mokahana, 40, 41. 

Molilele, 209. 

Molokai, 44, 46, 49, 51, 52, 56, 64, 
98, 109, 114, 152, 156, 158, 220- 
223. 

moo, 154, 165, 166. 

Moo, 51, 52. 

Mooinanea, 116-135, 139, 144, 147, 
148. 

Mu, 6, 8. 

Nakulakai, 163, 164, 172. 
Nakulauka,163-165, 172, 184 
Namakaeha, 71, 72. 

Namunawa, 142. 

Nanaue, 60-65. 

Napoopoo, 180. 
noa, 105. 

Nohu, 40, 85, 89, 94-99. no. 




HAWAIIAN TERMS 


Niihau, 42, 139, 164, 177, 211. 
Niuloahiki, 173, 190. 

Nuumealani, 122,127,128,163,165, 
173 . 175 - 

Nuuanu, 121, 123, 136, 140-144, 
161. 

Nuupule, 206. 


Oahu, 14, 23, 25,41, 44,77,83,117, 
125 , 139 , 143 . 144 . 152, 154 . 160, 
178, 191, 214. 
ohelo, 40. 

ohia, 37/38, 47, 48. 

Ohia, 125. 

Olaa, 191. 

Olohe, 11. 

Olopana, 132, 144, 148, 179-189, 
197, 199, 220. 
omaomao, 167. 

Opealoa, 196, 202, 211. 
opihiawa, 108. 
opoapea, 164. 

Ounauna, 158-160. 


Paaiie, 198. 

Paao, 3, 4. 

Paaohau,204. 
pahoa,13. 
pahoehoe, 198. 

Pakaalana, 179, 192, 197. 
pali, 150, 197, 202. 

Paliula, 121-141, 147. 

Panaewa, 197, 198. 

Papa, 235. 
papahee, 7. 
papaku,19. 

Papalakamo, 217. 
pa-u, (skirt) 203. 
pau (to stop). 

Pele, 73, 76, 154, 159, 160, 163, 169, 
205, 206. 

Pilauhulu, 191. 

Piliamoo, 197. 
piliwaiwai, 7. 

Piimoi, 170, 194, 213. 

Po,17719, 85. 

Pokahi, 36-39. 

Pokahu, 21. 

Poliahu, 45, 138, 140, I54-I57- 
Po-Milu, 105, 208. 

Popoalaea, 208, 215, 216. 

Pua, 98, hi. 

Pua-ohelo, 40. 

Pueo, 85. 


puepueone, 102. 
puhenehene, 191. 

Pukoo, 49. 

Puna, 7, 10, 11, 95, 122, 152-162 
171, 187. 

Punaluu, 141. 

Pupuhinahinaula, 40. 

Pupukanoi, 39, 40, 44, 46. 
Pupumokalau, 43. 

Puumano, 65. 

Puuokapolei, 211. 

tabu, 5, 6, 12, 52, 53, 55, 58, 120, 
129, 165, 172, 174, 179, 183, 186, 
188, 191, 193, 199, 210, 212, 227, 
228. 

Tahiti, 3, 66. 

Tanaroa, 5. 

Tane, 5. 

taro, 14, 26, 27, 28, 53, 54, 63, no. 
tapa, 55, 97. 
ti, 39 , 96, 97 - 

Uhu, 190. 

Ulu, 37. 

Ulunui, 143. 
ulumaika, 102. 
umauma, 102. 
unihipili, 8. 

Upolu, 3. 

Wahaula, 1-13. 

Waiakea, 133, 191. 

Waialae, 125. 

Waialua, 149. 

Waikahalulu, 161. 

Waikiki, 84, 85, 93. 

Wailuku, 197. 

Waimanu, 95. 

Waimea, 45, 185. 

Waiohinu, 28. 

Waiola, 132. 

Waipio, 36, 37, 45 , 59-64, 95 -no 
135, 148, 178, 180-182, 192, 197 
201, 208, 220, 224, 233, 239. 
Waipuhia, 120. 

Waipunalei, 198. 

Waka, 51, 121-126, 135, 141, 148 
214. 

Wakea, 152, 235. 

Walia, 104. 

Waolani, 117, 120-126, 134, 136- 
137, 140-150. 
winiwini, 177. 



POLYNESIAN LANGUAGE 


“A few words should be added on the peculiar genius and 
structure of the Polynesian language in general and of the 
Hawaiian dialect in particular. 

It is the law of all Polynesian languages that every word 
and syllable must end in a vowel, so that no two consonants 
are ever heard without a vowel sound between them. 

Most of the radical words are dissyllables, and the accent 
is generally on the penult. The Polynesian ear is as nice in 
marking the slightest variations in vowel sound as it is dull 
in distinguishing consonants. 

The vocabulary of the Hawaiian is probably richer than 
that of most other Polynesian tongues. Its child-like and 
primitive character is shown by the absence of abstract words 
and general terms. 

As has been well observed by M. Gaussin, there are three 
classes of words, corresponding to as many different stages 
of language: first, those that express sensations; second, 
images; third, abstract ideas. 

Not only are names wanting for the more general abstrac¬ 
tions, such as space, nature, fate, etc., but there are very 
few generic terms. For example there is no generic term for 
animal, expressing the whole class of living creatures or for 
insects or for colors. At the same time it abounds in specific 
names and in nice distinctions. 

So in the Hawaiian everything that relates to their every¬ 
day life or to the natural objects with which they are con¬ 
versant is expressed with a vivacity, a minuteness and nicety 
of coloring which cannot be reproduced in a foreign tongue. 
Thus the Hawaiian was very rich in terms for every variety 
of cloud. It has names for every species of plant on the 
mountains or fish in the sea, and is peculiarly copious in terms 
relating to the ocean, the surf and waves. 

For whatever belonged to their religions, their handicrafts 
or their amusements, their vocabulary was most copious and 
minute. Almost every stick in a native house had its appro¬ 
priate name. Hence it abounds in synonyms which are such 
only in appearance, i.e., “to be broken” as a stick is ‘haki,’ 
as a string is ‘moku/ as a dish ‘naha,’ as a wall ‘hina.’ 

Besides the language of every-day life, there was a style 
appropriate to oratory and another to religion and poetry. 

The above-mentioned characteristics make it a pictorial 
and expressive language. It still has the freshness of child¬ 
hood. Its words are pictures rather than colorless and 
abstract symbols of ideas, and are redolent of the mountain, 
the forest and the surf. 



POLYNESIAN LANGUAGE — Continued 


However it has been and is successfully used to express the 
abstractions of mathematics, of English law, and of theology/’ 


“The Hawaiian is but a dialect of the great Polynesian 
language, which is spoken with extraordinary uniformity over 
all the numerous islands of the Pacific Ocean between New 
Zealand and Hawaii. Again, the Polynesian language is but 
one member of that wide-spread family of languages, known 
as the Malayo-Polynesian or Oceanic family, which extends 
from 'Madagascar to the Hawaiian Islands and from New 
Zealand to Formosa. The Hawaiian dialect is peculiarly in¬ 
teresting to the philologist from its isolated position, being the 
most remote of the family from its primeval seat in South¬ 
eastern Asia, and leading the van with the Malagasy in the rear. 
We believe the Hawaiian to be the most copious and expressive, 
as well as the richest in native traditional history and poetry. 
Dr. Reinhold Forster, the celebrated naturalist of Captain 
Cook’s second voyage, drew up a table containing 47 words 
taken from 11 Oceanic dialects and the corresponding terms 
in Malay, Mexican, Peruvian and Chilian. From this table 
he inferred that the Polynesian languages afford many analo¬ 
gies with the Malay while they present no point of contact 
with the American. 

Baron William von Humboldt, the distinguished statesman 
and scholar, showed that the Tagala, the leading language of 
the Philippine Islands, is by far the richest and most perfect 
of these languages. ‘It possesses,’ he says, ‘all the forms 
collectively of which particular ones are found singly in other 
dialects; and it has preserved them all with very trifling ex¬ 
ceptions unbroken and in entire harmony and symmetry.’ 

The languages of the Oceanic region have been divided into 
six great groups; i.e., the Polynesian; the Micronesian; the 
Melanesian or Papuan; the Australian; the Malaysian; 
the Malagasy. Many examples might be given if they were 
needed to illustrate the connection of these languages. The 
Polynesian is an ancient and primitive member of the Malay 
family. The New Zealand dialect is the most primitive and 
entire in its forms. The Hawaiians, Marquesans and Tahit¬ 
ians form a closely related group by themselves. For ex¬ 
ample, the Marquesan converts are using Hawaiian books and 
the people of the Austral Islands read the Tahitian Bible.” 

The above was written by W. D. Alexander in Honolulu in 
1865, author of the “History of the Hawaiian Islands” as 
preface to Andrew’s Dictionary. 


PRESS NOTICES HAWAIIAN LEGENDS 



LEGENDS OF OLD HONOLULU. Published July, 1915. 
LEGENDS OF GHOSTS AND GHOST-GODS. Jan., 1916. 
LEGENDS OF HAWAIIAN VOLCANOES. Oct., 1916. 
By William Drake Westervelt. 

Press of Geo. H. Ellis Co., Boston. 
i2mo, $1.50, net; small, $1.00, net. 

In the old days of our grandfathers, Oregon and Hawaii 
enjoyed quite a brisk trade. Friendships were made that 
lasted. Along this line of thought here is a book that will 
be welcomed gladly by Oregon readers. It is a collection 
of tales on Hawaiian Mythology skilfully edited by W. D. 
Westervelt of Honolulu and bound at the press of Geo. H. 
Ellis Co., Boston .—The Oregonian, Portland, Ore., Aug., 1916. 




Press Notices ( continued ). 

In bringing together this collection Mr. Westervelt has done 
a favor to the residents of Hawaii and those visitors to its 
shores who take an interest in its original inhabitants.— The 
Bee, Omaha, Neb., June, igi6. 

The Polynesian type is one of the most attractive that 
mankind has ever developed and the Hawaiian is typically 
Polynesian. The migration of the Polynesian race over the 
great ocean is one of the marvelous achievements of man, and 
the legends, incidentally, when not intentionally, throw much 
light oti this movement. This volume of “Ghosts and Ghost- 
gods ” is the second of a series of six which the author plans. 
Nowhere else in culture is legendary lore more ample or 
rich; nowhere else does human character present stranger con¬ 
tradictions; nowhere else does belief more nearly approach the 
wild-fantastic. No book in Mr. Westervelt’s series will more 
strikingly display these qualities than this one on ghosts and 
ghost-gods.— Sunday State Journal, Wis., June, 1916. 

Unquestionably the most complete and entertaining dis¬ 
closure of the rich treasure-store of mid-Pacific myth with 
which the English-speaking world has yet been favored. 
When the series is finished, there will have been little unsaid 
on a subject intensely attractive to the mythologist, the 
student of comparative religion and the ethnologist.— 
Deseret Evening News, Salt Lake City, Utah , June, 1916. 

A student of mythology will find many links between these 
legends and those of far-distant lands. The book will have 
vital interest for all lovers of folk-lore who will find much 
information in these tales of ancient tribes.— Book News, 
Philadelphia, Dec., 1915. 

While the book will be of especial interest to students of 
ethnology and to those who have visited Honolulu, the 
romantic charm which pervades the Pacific Archipelago gives 
the history universal attraction to the reading public.— Globe, 
Boston, Mass., Oct. 25,1915. 

A valuable addition to the world’s collection of folk-lore 
is made by Mr. W. D. Westervelt in “Legends of Old Hono¬ 
lulu.”— New York Times, Jan. 16, 1916. 

Lovers of legendary Folk-lore may feast upon this collec¬ 
tion of traditional tales of the Hawaiian people and their 
origin as first told by the old Hawaiian and sometimes 
touched up by the Hawaiian story-teller. Mr. Westervelt, a 
resident of Honolulu, was president of the Hawaiian Historical 
Society for some time.— Boston Transcript, Aug. 11, 1915. 


Press Notices {continued). 

All these legends have their own particular appeal and the 
book may be classed among the rare offerings of the year.— 
Buffalo Courier, Aug. 29,1915. 

He writes as one well versed in his subject and some of the 
legends which he presents are of great beauty and show a fine 
and delicate imagination in their authors.— London Times, 
Sept. 23, 1915. 

Mr. Westervelt is a historian of recognized standing and 
has given much time to the study of the Hawaiian Folk-Lore. 
—The Friend, Sept., 1915. 

His contribution to folk-lore is as important and valuable 
as his books are attractive and interesting to read.— San 
Francisco, Cal., Jan. 8, 1916. 

These legends show no lack of imagination on the part 
of the Hawaiian. They are simple, filled with superstition 
and largely concerned with wonderful chiefs and animals 
with extraordinary powers.— Christian Science Monitor, Aug., 
1915 - 

Mr. Westervelt has made a noteworthy contribution to 
legendary literature.— Bellman, Minn., Sept., 1915. 

Some entertaining stories are told by Mr. W. D. Westervelt 
in his collection of “Legends of Old Honolulu.”— Spectator, 
London, Oct., 1915. 

These legends will prove of unusual interest to the general 
reader and especially to the scholar, thinker and poet. They 
describe vividly and strongly the triumphs and wanderings 
of the people of Hawaii.— Overland Monthly, San Francisco, 
Oct., 1915. 

Mr. Westervelt has long been an active observer of the 
aboriginal condition of Hawaiian life and the stories he has 
discovered have added not a little to our knowledge of the 
Polynesian race as it was before the dawn of history.— Scots¬ 
man, Sept., 1915. 

These interesting legends, some of which are very old, fur¬ 
nish almost a history of the Hawaiian thought. — Int. Review 
of Missions, Edinburgh, 1915. 

Those who are interested in the distant possessions of the 
U.S. will welcome this volume of “Legends of Old Honolulu” 
by W. D. Westervelt. They depict the typical native life 
of Hawaii. Other volumes are in press. — So. Atlantic 
Quarterly, Durham, N.C., Jan., 1916. 


Press Notices ( continued ). 

The Hawaiian Legends have a quality of their own. The 
book is pleasing in design with many illustrations.— Dial, 
Chicago, Dec . i, 1915. 

Thanks to Mr. Westervelt the reading public has learned 
more of the natives of Hawaii and their folk-lore. The 
book is handsomely designed and illustrated.— Pittsburgh 
Chronicle, 1915. 

The stories tell of the struggles, triumphs and wanderings 
of the people and while they are full of interest as merely 
stories, they have a special value to all who are concerned 
with frie study of comparative folk-lore.— Bookseller, London, 
Aug. 10, 1915. 

All the legends are fresh and charming and help to give 
glimpses into the workings of the thought and imagination 
of the simple dwellers in the Isles of the South Seas. Mr. 
Westervelt is to be congratulated on his new contribution 
to our better knowledge of the fast-dwindling people whom 
he knows and loves so well.— Herald, Glasgow, Sept. 23, 1915. 

An entertaining dip into Hawaiian mythology is reserved 
for readers of “Legends of Gods and Ghosts,” whose author 
is W. D. Westervelt. The tales are collected from native 
tongues and put into English with no apparent sacrifice of 
their interest and charm. The Hawaiians have developed 
some beautiful nature-myths, which are well worth preserva¬ 
tion as companion pieces with the better known fairy stories 
that come to us from Europe and Asia. Tales of fisher 
folks, of mountain habitants, of magic fishhooks and of 
creatures who could take on the form of man or of sea monster 
at will—such are the legends handed down from generation 
to generation among these mid-Pacific people. They are 
worth reading.—Boston: The George H. Ellis Co. Press.— 
Cleveland Plain Dealer, Mar. 23,1916. 

Gods and Goddesses tower in the place allotted to fairies 
in Europe and to genii in Asia and the book is of the greatest 
interest to the student of stories.— Bookseller, London, Aug. 10, 
I9I5- 

Just as their music is weirdly sweet so the legends of the 
Hawaiians have a fascinating beauty about them. Not only to 
the anthropologist but to the general reader all the myths have 
their appeal.— Springfield Republican, 1916. 

Mr. Westervelt includes among his legends “Ghosts and 
Ghost-gods” something about homeless and desolate ghosts, 
ancestor ghosts, and dragon ghost-gods. He has illustrated 


Press Notices {continued). 

with twelve pictures of Hawaiian scenery and fish plates in 
color. ... So out of this rich material Mr. Westervelt makes 
an interesting book. Most persons never outgrow fairy 
tales and these have a novelty and glamour that we associate 
with far-off tropical Polynesia.— Transcript, Boston, igi6. 

The note of the story does not often rise above the carnal 
but now and then a higher note is struck of friendship, 
marital love and loyalty, courage for high ends. As a con¬ 
tribution to aboriginal folk-lore Mr. Westervelt’s book takes 
a distinct place.— Herald, Boston, Mass., Jan. 29, 1916. 

Greek Mythology, red Indian Folk-lore and Andersen’s 
Fairy Tales are made of one stuff and kin to them all are 
these South Sea Island Stories told by Mr. W. D. Westervelt.— 
New York Sun, Jan. 23, 1916. 

These legends reveal an extraordinary understanding of 
Nature’s ways and moods and unveil early history with a 
mythological setting.— San Francisco, Feb., 1916. 


The author purposes to bring out during 1917: 

LIFE OF KAMEHAMEHA. 
LEGENDS OF MAUI. 
HISTORICAL LEGENDS. 









' 










































































































